Raw honey is a market term for honey that has not been heated above hive temperatures and has not been fine-filtered, preserving natural enzymes, pollen and microcrystalline structure, though no harmonised EU legal definition exists.
In trade practice
Because the EU Honey Directive does not define raw honey, buyers and suppliers must agree contractually on the maximum processing temperature and the filtration method permitted. Suppliers typically provide a processing declaration or a statement from the extraction facility confirming that heating did not exceed the agreed threshold. Diastase activity and HMF content are used as proxy indicators of minimal heat treatment, as both deteriorate with elevated temperatures. Mislabelling conventionally processed honey as raw is a recognised authenticity risk that NMR profiling and enzyme testing can help detect.
In a specification
A specification for raw honey should state the maximum temperature applied during extraction and bottling, the filtration mesh size or method excluded, and the enzyme and HMF parameters used to verify minimal processing, as these are contractual rather than statutory requirements.