Honey

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) regulates honey or honey products leaving federally inspected establishments or any honey imported into Canada. This includes evaluation of the overall manufacturing practices of honey processing establishments to ensure that all honey and honey products are manufactured under sanitary conditions.

CFIA activities include:

• inspecting establishments to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements for grade and standardized container sizes;
• assessing equipment for its capacity to be adequately cleaned and its appropriateness for the intended use; and,
• sampling honey for analysis of contaminants such as yeast, mould, chemical residues, heavy metals and harmful extraneous matter, for compliance with grades, net quantity and labelling requirements and to verify authenticity.

The key acts and regulations we enforce are:

• Canada Agricultural Products Act
  • Honey Regulations
• Food and Drugs Act
  • Food and Drug Regulations

Information we provide for consumers includes:

• Common Causes of Foodborne Illness
• Food Safety Tips

Information we provide for the food industry includes:

• Guide to the Labelling of Honey
• Honey Establishment Inspection Manual
• Honey from China
• Reference Listing of Accepted Construction Materials, Packaged Materials and Non-Food Chemical Products
• Working Residue Levels in Honey

Additional government and industry information can be found at:

• Canadian Honey Council