genuinely trying to work this out and every answer i find contradicts the last one. is mad honey legal in the uk — like actually, on paper? half the threads ive read say its fine its just honey, the other half say its a banned novel food. one seller told me they were "fully compliant" which told me exactly nothing. does anyone have something you can point at instead of vibes
compliant with what though. sellers use that word because it has the shape of paperwork without any paperwork existing
Part of the confusion is that people are answering different questions and calling all of them "legal".
No UK statute names mad honey. What applies is general food law — food on the market has to be safe and not misleadingly presented — plus novel food status, which asks whether something was eaten here to a significant degree before 15 May 1997. If it wasn't, it needs authorisation before it can be sold as a food. "Nobody has banned it" and "it is authorised" are not the same sentence.
So a jar can be both not specifically banned and not lawfully sellable as a food. Post-Brexit that call sits with the FSA for Great Britain rather than EFSA, and Northern Ireland works differently again. I'm not a lawyer, and the register moves, so check it yourself rather than taking my word for it.
so its not illegal but you also cant sell it. brilliant. really clears that up
@Jake that combination is more common than people expect. And in practice there is no national mad honey squad enforcing any of it — it's local Trading Standards and port health, which is why two sellers can behave completely differently and neither hears anything for years. What actually catches people out is the copy, not the honey. The moment a listing implies the product does something to your body you are in a different rulebook, and that one gets enforced far more often.