Honey: Imports
(asked on 23rd February 2021) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 15 February 2021 to Question 149773 on Honey: Sales, how many checks were made on imports of honey to ensure their equivalence with UK food production standards in each of the last five years; and on how many occasions imported honey products were found to not meet UK standards.
In the five years from 2016-2020 there were 6,720 consignments of honey imported into the United Kingdom from non-European Union countries totalling 212,043,339 kilograms in weight. The following table provides a summary of the number of checks undertaken on consignments of imported honey between 2016-2020 and the number found to be unsatisfactory.
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
Total number of documentary checks | 1,270 | 1,420 | 1,382 | 1,371 | 1,277 |
Number of documentary checks found to be unsatisfactory | 26 | 41 | 31 | 44 | 43 |
Total number of identity checks | 1,264 | 1,419 | 1,379 | 1,366 | 1,275 |
Number of identity checks found to be unsatisfactory | 8 | 13 | 18 | 21 | 24 |
Total number of physical checks | 636 | 659 | 680 | 644 | 272 |
Number of physical checks found to be unsatisfactory | 2 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 5 |
Total number of samples taken | 89 | 118 | 105 | 99 | 49 |
Number of samples found to be unsatisfactory | 1 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 1 |