South African legislation offers protection against honey adulteration and fraud. South African honeys are governed by the Agricultural product standards act, 1990 (Act No. 119 of 1990): Regulations relating to the grading, packaging and marking of honey and mixtures of bee products intended for sale in the Republic of South Africa.

Compositional and quality requirements

These requirements stipulate the chemical and physical properties that all honeys available in South Africa have to comply with. Examples of the benchmarks include which sugars are present and their specific proportions, how much moisture there can be in a honey, and the maximum amount of hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) present in a honey. The compositional and quality requirements are important for distinguishing fake and/or poor quality honeys from the authentic. 

Labelling requirements

The label of a honey serves as a description of the product to help consumers decide whether it meets their specific needs. Their needs may range from wanting a product with a particular taste, originating from a specific region, or being produced in a particular manner. When a label is designed to purposefully mislead a consumer into a buying a product without it having the desired features, it is considered food fraud. 

Act No. 119 also provides restrictions on the use of the word "honey", and the use of symbols or illustrations that may mislead consumers into thinking the product is purely honey. The act says the following:

  1. No wording, illustration or other means of expression which constitutes a misrepresentation or which, directly or by implication, may create a misleading impression of the contents, shall appear on any container containing honey or mixtures of bee products.
  2. The word "honey" or any representation thereof may not appear anywhere on any honey substitute, its label or packaging; and (b) should a honey substitute contain any honey, then the word "honey" shall only appear within the list of ingredients of such honey substitute.