Compliance Investigation of Honey-Packaged Food Labels and Claims in Saudi Arabia

Honey provides various nutritional, health, and economic advantages, making it crucial to oversee its production and import. Thus, the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) regulates and monitors honey products. This study assesses the compliance of honey products with the SFDA's food labeling and claims regulations.

This observational cross-sectional study was aimed at assessing the compliance of the honey products labeling requirements set by SFDA. The data of this study were collected by surveying the package labeling information of selected prepackaged honey. The labeling compliance was assessed by using a comprehensive checklist that takes into account the various aspects of honey products labeling requirements. The claims' compliance was assessed based on SFDA health and nutritional claims technical regulation.

The present study involved 306 locally distributed honey products. Natural honey and Sidr honey were the most common types included in the sample. Out of the 10 compliance components, only four had a compliance rate of 90% or above. Brand name was the most commonly complied component on all products' labels at 100%, followed by food additives at 99.67%. Only 1.96% of the honey samples carried health or nutritional claims; nutritional claims were found to be 100% compliant, and 50% of the written health claims were identified as prohibited claims.

The assessment revealed both strengths and areas for improvement. While there was high compliance with nutritional claims and accurate product naming, there were notable issues with health claims and batch numbering. These findings underscore the importance of ongoing monitoring and regulatory oversight.