What The 'Blend' Label Really Means On Store-Bought Honey

Grocery shopping can be hard. There are countless descriptors on products that are meant to inform the consumer about what the product is and does, but these can end up being confusing, and honey is no exception. If we haven't quite answered all of your honey questions and you still find yourself confused when searching through jars in the grocery store aisle, particularly when you notice the word "blend" on numerous honey products, then you're in the right place.

The FDA defines honey as a "thick, sweet, syrupy substance that bees make as food from the nectar of plants or secretions of living parts of plants and store in honeycombs." The agency's guidance document, titled "Proper Labeling of Honey and Honey Products," then emphasizes that if anything else is added to honey, it should no longer be labeled as only "honey." This is because honey is a single-ingredient food, and when consumers purchase honey, they may not expect there to be anything else in it. Therefore, when you see a "blend" label on a jar of honey, it means that the manufacturer has added other ingredients.

In addition to explaining why the word "blend" might appear on your jar of honey, the FDA's guidance document dives into even further detail on honey labeling. When additional ingredients are added to honey, the packaging must also include an ingredient statement, which is not required for single-ingredient honey. The details on a label are essential to review when looking for the perfect jar of honey.

Additionally, producers are allowed to include the chief source of nectar in the naming of honey, which is why you may see products labeled "clover honey" or "alfalfa honey" in your grocery aisle. The sources of nectar and the bees' location affect the characteristics of the honey produced, including its flavor. If you can't decide which honey to go with, this ultimate guide to different types of honey highlights the key characteristics of some popular options.