Honey | whatsinit

About

What it is and where it shows up.

Honey is a natural sweet substance produced by honey bees from the nectar of blossoms or from secretions of living plants, which bees collect, transform, and store in honeycombs for ripening. It is used worldwide as a natural sweetener, flavouring agent, and traditional remedy, prized for its antimicrobial properties and distinctive floral profiles.

Safety summary

The regulatory and scientific consensus.

Honey is broadly safe for healthy adults and children over 12 months; however, it must be strictly avoided by infants under 12 months due to the risk of infant botulism from Clostridium botulinum spores that their immature gut cannot neutralise. EFSA identified a possible human health concern from pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) naturally present in some honey varieties, with toddlers and young children flagged as the highest-risk consumers relative to body weight. Its high free-sugar content (predominantly fructose and glucose) also warrants caution for individuals with diabetes or metabolic conditions.

Regulatory landscape

What food-safety regulators have decided.

Jurisdiction	Status	Note
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) (European Union)	Approved	Regulated under Council Directive 2001/110/EC relating to honey, as amended by Directive 2014/63/EU. EFSA's 2017 CONTAM Panel opinion (EFSA-Q-2015-00158) identified a possible health concern from pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) in honey for high-consuming toddlers and children. Honey quality and labelling standards are harmonised across Member States; no E-number assigned as honey is a natural food product, not a food additive.source
FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) (India)	Approved	Regulated under FSS (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations 2011, Chapter 2.8, sub-regulation 2.8.3 (Honey and its by-products). Standards specify: max sucrose 5% (10% for Carvia callosa/Honeydew), max moisture 20%, min pollen count 25,000 per gram, and max HMF 80 mg/kg (per FSSAI Advisory, November 2025). FSSAI prohibits labelling any product as 'honey' unless it is pure honey. Eighteen compositional parameters must be met. Adulteration testing includes SMR (Specific Marker for Rice Syrup) and isotope ratio analysis (EA/LC-IRMS, C4 sugar max 7%).source
FDA (Food and Drug Administration) (United States)	Approved	Honey is recognised as a natural, traditional food regulated under the FD&C Act. FDA guidance (Docket FDA-2006-P-0207) stipulates that any product blending honey with other sweeteners (e.g., corn syrup, sugar) may not be labelled solely as 'honey'; doing so constitutes adulteration under sections 402(b)(1), (2), and (4). No ADI established as honey is a whole food of pre-1958 use heritage.source

Who should approach with care

Whose guidance would steer them away.

Infants — Honey may contain Clostridium botulinum spores that can cause potentially fatal infant botulism in children under 12 months, whose immature intestinal flora cannot prevent spore germination and toxin production; this risk disappears after 12 months.

Children — EFSA's 2017 CONTAM Panel concluded there is a possible carcinogenic health concern from pyrrolizidine alkaloids naturally present in some honey varieties, with toddlers and young children facing the highest relative dietary exposure among all age groups.

Diabetes — Honey consists predominantly of free fructose and glucose (total reducing sugars typically ≥65% by mass per FSSAI standards), which can cause rapid post-prandial glycaemic excursions and requires careful monitoring in individuals with diabetes or insulin resistance.

Ibd — The high fermentable sugar content of honey (fructose, glucose, and minor oligosaccharides) may exacerbate gastrointestinal symptoms in individuals with inflammatory bowel disease or irritable bowel syndrome.

Research citations

The sources behind this verdict.

1FDA. Guidance for Industry: Proper Labeling of Honey and Honey Products. fda.gov
2FSSAI. Advisory: Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to be considered as a quality parameter in Honey (File No. QA-11023/57/2024-QA-FSSAI-Part(1)), 2025. fssai.gov.in
3FSSAI. Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations 2011, Chapter 2.8: Sweetening Agents Including Honey, 2023. fssai.gov.in
4FSSAI. FSSAI comes up with food safety standards for honey and its products in a bid to curb adulteration, 2018. fssai.gov.in
5EFSA. Risks for human health related to the presence of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in honey, tea, herbal infusions and food supplements, 2017. efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Independently researched5 citations