Section 0080-04-12-.03 - ESSENTIAL COMPOSITION AND QUALITY FACTORS(1) A product sold or offered for sale as honey shall not have added to it any food additives, as defined in T.C.A. § 53-1-102(15), nor shall any other additions be made other than honey. It shall not have begun to ferment or effervesce and no pollen or constituent unique to honey may be removed except where unavoidable in the removal of foreign matter. Honey shall not be heated or processed to such an extent that its essential composition is changed or its quality is impaired. Chemical or biochemical treatments shall not be used to influence honey crystallization.(2) Moisture Content - No water may be added to honey in the course of extraction or packing for sale or resale as honey. Honey shall not have a moisture content exceeding 20%.(3) Sugars Content. (a) The ratio of fructose to glucose shall be greater than 0.9.(b) Fructose and Glucose (Sum of Both) shall not be less than 60g/100g.(c) The Maltose content shall not exceed 10%.(d) The sucrose content shall not be more than 5g/100g with the following exceptions: 1. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa), Citrus spp., False Acacia (Robinia pseudoacacia), French Honeysuckle (Hedysarum), Menzies Banksia (Banksia menziesii), Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis), Leatherwood (Eucryphia lucida), Eucryphia milligani - not more than 10g/100g.2. Lavender (Lavandula spp) and Borage (Borago officinalis) - not more than 15g/100g.(e) There shall be no oligosaccharides indicative of invert syrup.(4) The absolute value of Carbon Stable Isotope Ratio Analysis (CSIRA) shall be more negative than -20.0.(5) CSIRA Internal Standard Procedure with a protein value minus honey value shall not be more negative than -1.0.Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0080-04-12-.03
Original rule filed March 24, 2015; effective 6/22/2015.Authority: T.C.A. § 53-1-205.