By Sharon Wilson
The Scottish Bee Company's heather honey has become the UK's first every food product to be awarded the new British Standards Institution (BSI) Kitemark™ for Food Assurance.
The new BSI Kitemark can now help food sector organisations to verify food label claims, deliver consumer trust and support transparency in the food chain.
The new food Kitemark, is BSI's response to the food industry’s increasing levels of food fraud. It aims to independently verify food product label claims.
The Scottish Bee Company hopes its new status will ensure that when people buy a jar of ‘Scottish heather honey’, that is what they are getting.
Honey is on Interpol’s list as one of the most adultered and fraudulent food products. Still, pure Scottish heather honey from the Edinburgh-based Scottish Bee Company is only produced in hives located in the Lothians, Dumfriesshire, Stirlingshire, Fife and Aberdeenshire.
Suzie Millar, Co-founder of The Scottish Bee Company, said: “We’re absolutely over the moon to be the first food product in the UK to have been awarded the new BSI Kitemark for Food Assurance.
“Provenance, purity, social responsibility and environmental sustainability are so important to us, and we wanted to assure our customers around the world that when they buy a jar of our ‘Scottish heather honey’, that’s precisely what they’re getting.
“This significant new ‘Food Assurance’ status will hopefully raise the profile of our honey in the global market and go a step further to establishing it as a genuinely pure Scottish product.”
To achieve its BSI Kitemark for Food Assurance, the Scottish Bee Company had to have each step of its supply chain audited and its honey samples tested for pesticides and genetically modified organisms in an independent laboratory environment.
The company also had to send BSI information about where its hives are located and are open to being audited at any time to ensure they are in Scotland. They will continue to use regular photo verification with location services on throughout the year.
Howard Kerr, Chief Executive at BSI, said: “Today, people want to understand the essential details about the food they eat.
“By extending the power of the Kitemark into areas like food authenticity and provenance, including the Scottish Bee Company, BSI can serve that need. ”
The Scottish Bee Company is known for promoting locally grown produce and for its environmentally friendly and socially responsible products; fully recyclable packaging that donates a percentage of its profits to its sister charity, Re-Pollinate. The Scottish Bee Company’s Heather Honey has won a Great Taste award and prides itself on having no pesticides or GMO’s in its products.
The Scottish Bee Company’s online shop is now open www.scottishbeecompany.co.uk/shop.
For more information about the new British Standards Institution (BSI) Kitemark™ for Food Assurance, visit www.bsigroup.com/en-GB/our-services/product-certification/kitemark/food-kitemark.
