Buy and sell locally with Bee-Market – simple, fast, and made for your community.
Buy and sell locally with Bee-Market – simple, fast, and made for your community.
Version: 1.0 • Last updated: 24 September 2025
This page explains the requirements for listing honey on Bee Market. It summarises UK law and Bee Market rules so that your listings are safe, lawful, and clear for buyers. This guidance is not legal advice.
Guidance only (not legal advice). Laws and guidance can change. You are solely responsible for ensuring your listings comply with all applicable law. Seek advice from your local authority/Trading Standards or a qualified legal adviser if unsure.
Bee-related listings only. Bee Market is a vertical marketplace. Only bee-related products (e.g., honey, wax, propolis, pollen, live bees, beekeeping equipment) may be listed. Bee Market may refuse, hide, or remove any listing at our discretion and may restrict or suspend selling access for repeated or serious breaches.
If you sell honey in the UK — even just plain honey from your garden hives — the law treats you as a food business operator the moment you offer it for sale (whether to the public, at markets, online, or through Bee Market). This means you must register with your local authority at least 28 days before trading. Registration is free. The Food Standards Agency also provides a step-by-step guide for starting a food business.
Quick facts:
• Registration is free and covers home kitchens, stalls, vans, and online sales.
• Do it 28+ days before trading; your council may inspect and issue a hygiene rating.
• This is registration (not “approval”)—honey sales normally don’t need approval.
• See the FSA’s step-by-step guidance: Starting a food business from home.
Honey must be extracted, bottled, stored and transported hygienically in line with UK food hygiene law. In England: the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013 apply; in Wales: the Food Hygiene (Wales) Regulations 2006 (as amended); in Scotland: the Food Hygiene (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended); in Northern Ireland: the Food Hygiene Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 and applicable EU hygiene law (including Regulation (EC) No 852/2004) continue to apply under the Windsor Framework. Premises, equipment and containers must be clean and suitable for food use.
Sources: Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regs 2013 · Food Hygiene (Wales) Regs 2006 · Food Hygiene (Scotland) Regs 2006 · Food Hygiene Regs (Northern Ireland) 2006 · Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 · FSA note on NI & EU law
Honey sold in the UK must meet the legal “honey” definitions and quality rules set out in the national Honey Regulations for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. In plain terms: the product must be clean, pure, and not beginning to ferment, with no unusual tastes or smells, and no added ingredients (you can only sell true honey as “honey”). Natural elements of honey must not be removed—except where a legally defined style requires it (e.g. “filtered honey”). Reserved descriptions (such as comb honey, extracted honey, filtered honey, honeydew honey) have specific legal meanings and must be used correctly. For general background, see the FSA/GOV.UK guidance on food standards, labelling and composition.
Sources: national Honey Regulations for England (2015), Wales (2015), Scotland (2015), Northern Ireland (2015); and GOV.UK on food standards, labelling & composition.
Keep it pure: no added sugars, flavours, or other ingredients.
Quality intact: natural colour, aroma and flavour; no off-odours; not beginning to ferment.
Correct description: use the legally defined name, e.g. “Comb Honey”, “Extracted Honey”, “Filtered Honey”, “Honeydew Honey”.
Filtration note: if significant pollen is removed, the product must be sold as “Filtered Honey”.
Name of the food: usually “Honey”. Use the correct legal description where applicable (e.g., “Comb Honey”, “Filtered Honey”, “Heather Honey”). Infused products like “Honey with Ginger” are not simply “Honey”.
Net quantity: show the weight in metric units (e.g., 227g, 340g, 454g, 1kg). The weight excludes the jar.
Country of origin: mandatory. For single-origin honey state, for example, “Product of England”. For blends, use the required phrases such as “Blend of EU honeys”, “Blend of non-EU honeys”, or “Blend of EU and non-EU honeys”.
Best before date: state when the honey is best enjoyed (e.g., “Best before end: June 2027”).
Lot/Batch: a traceable code for each bottling (e.g., “L150725” for jars filled on 15 July 2025).
Name & address of the responsible business: enough detail for contact/traceability (your own name/address is fine for hobby sellers).
Storage advice: simple guidance such as “Store in a cool, dry place. Keep jar sealed after opening.”
Infant warning (best practice): “Honey should not be given to infants under 12 months.”
Comb Honey — 340g — Best before end: 06/2027
Product of England • Lot: L150725 • Packed by J. Smith, 10 High Street, York YO1 1AA • Store in a cool, dry place. Keep sealed after opening. Not for infants under 12 months.
See official guidance on labelling and the specific rules in the Honey (England) Regulations 2015.
Plain honey has no mandatory allergen declaration. If you add other ingredients (e.g., nuts), follow the UK rules for allergen labelling (14 allergens).
Do not make medicinal claims (e.g., “treats coughs”); health claims are tightly controlled under food law and advertising rules.
Use a tamper-evident seal. While not a specific legal requirement for honey, a visible seal strongly supports hygiene, buyer confidence, and dispute handling. If a seal is broken after delivery, treat the jar as opened.
Distance-selling returns (consumer cancellation rights): Under the UK Consumer Contracts Regulations, the 14-day cancellation right does not apply to sealed goods not suitable for return for health protection or hygiene reasons once unsealed after delivery. A jar of honey opened by the customer generally falls within this hygiene exception. Conclusion: you are not legally required to accept a return of an opened honey jar.
If you accept an opened return anyway: do not resell it. Food law prohibits placing unsafe or compromised food back on the market. Opened/returned jars must be disposed of appropriately.
Sealed & unopened jars: If the seal remains intact, normal consumer cancellation rules may apply; many sellers accept returns of unopened jars in line with their stated policy (you can still require the buyer to take reasonable care and return within stated timeframes).
Legal references: hygiene/health-protection exception to cancellation rights (Consumer Contracts Regulations reg. 28); prohibition on placing unsafe food on the market (General Food Law). See the sources at the end of this page.
Use clean food-grade jars and lids; prevent leaks and damage in transit; include storage advice on the label. If shipping with other products, package to prevent tainting or contamination. Keep records for traceability (batch/lot).
Opened jar? You don’t have to accept a return.
Unopened & sealed? Follow your stated return policy.
Never resell opened returns. Dispose of them.
Key sources: GOV.UK: food business registration · FSA: starting a food business · GOV.UK: food standards & labelling · FSA: packaging & labelling · FSA: allergen guidance · Regulation (EC) 852/2004 (hygiene) · Food Safety & Hygiene (England) Regs 2013 · Food Hygiene (Wales) Regs 2006 · Food Hygiene (Scotland) Regs 2006 · Food Hygiene Regs (Northern Ireland) 2006 · Honey (England) Regulations 2015 · Honey (Wales) Regulations 2015 · Honey (Scotland) Regulations 2015 · Honey (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2015 · Consumer Contracts Regs, reg. 28 (sealed goods) · General Food Law, art. 14 (unsafe food) · FSA note on NI & EU law · NHS: no honey for under-1s
