Targeted legislative interventions and regulations in order to deal with the chronic problem of adulteration and Greekization of Greek honey which also plagues beekeepers, announced the Deputy Minister of Rural Development and Food, Mr. Simos Kedikoglou, during the wide-ranging meeting with officials, scientific and production bodies and professionals of the industry.

The aim of the Deputy Minister’s initiative is to protect Greek beekeeping from illegal behavior, to submit and process proposals to optimize the production control system and to search for ways to effectively support the product and producers, in the context of the ongoing contact he seeks with representatives of the beekeeping sector to solve the issues of the sector and highlight the value of Greek honey.

Mr. Kedikoglou developed the value of the Electronic Beekeeping Register stating that it is a very useful basis for the establishment of the Greek honey brand and informed that the creation of the “e-honey” digital service, for the recording of of the honey production, marketing and distribution chain (honey balance), in the context of the implementation of a traceability system for beekeeping products.

The digital platform will be fully interconnected with the National Electronic Beekeeping Register and the data declared in it, while the technical possibility will be provided for the supervision of imports and the monitoring of the honey market, thus contributing to the protection and promotion of Greek beekeeping products, the safeguarding of producers and the consumer public from counterfeiting and deception, being a decisive tool for establishing traceability mechanisms and maintaining the honey balance.

He also emphasized that the Ministry of Development & Investments, and specifically the General Secretariat of Trade, is assisting in the effort to protect Greek beekeeping and combat illegal practices, underlining the important cooperation that the two ministries have developed.

“There is a clear political will to crack down on counterfeiting and Greekization circuits”, he clarified and requested the examination of the possibility of tightening the framework of penalties and sanctions.

The discussion took place in the presence of: G.G. of Trade and Consumer Protection Mr. Sotiris Anagnostopoulos, the General Director of EFET Mr. Panagiotis Vassilopoulos, the Head of the Supervision of Private Bodies and Specifications department of the Directorate of Certification and Specifications of ELGO DIMITRA Ms. Maria Spentzou, the Head of the Directorate for the Management of Milk & Meat Controls ELGO DIMITRA Mr. Efstratios Nikolaos, the Emeritus Professor of AUTH Mr. Andreas Thrasyvoulos, the representatives of the Association of Greek Standardizers Packers Exporters of Honey (SETSEM) etc. Alexandrou Pitta (ATTICA BEEKEEPING COMPANY – ALEXANDROS PITTAS SA), P. Kavoura (KAVOURAS P. & SIA OE Center of Greek Beekeeping) and Yannis Karipidis (Stayia Farm). The meeting on behalf of the Federation of Beekeeping Associations of Greece was attended by the president Mr. Anastasios Pontikis, the vice-president Mr. Konstantinos Leontarakis, the secretary Mr. Dimitrios Nikolaou and the treasurer Mr. Konstantinos Dounas.

In addition, the Head of the Department of Beekeeping, Sericulture & Other Animal Organisms, Mr. Marios Tzitzinakis, the Head of the Directorate of Veterinary Public Health, Ms. Spyros Dountounakis, the Head of the Directorate of Animal Husbandry Systems, Ms. Eleni Apostolaki. From the Department of Data Center, Network and Database Management, the Head of the Department Ms. Georgia Pappa.

The agencies involved agreed on mutual cooperation and solidarity, recommended a tightening of controls, discussed all the latest data and looked for ways to effectively support the sector.

The Deputy Minister requested the elaboration of the relevant conclusions from today’s meeting, the submission of proposals and the repetition of the meeting.