Until the adoption by the European Commission of methods intended to permit verification of compliance of honey with the provisions laid down in Directive 2001/110/EC, Member States shall use internationally recognized validated methods such as those approved by the Codex Alimentarius to verify compliance with the characteristics and composition requirements prescribed by the same Directive (art. 4 of Directive 2001/110/EC). The present Ministerial Decree has been adopted on this basis. The Decree approves the official methods to be followed for analysing honey. The official methods are described with detail in the Annex attached. The Decree does not prejudice the principle of mutual recognition to be applied in respect of products that have been legally manufactured or marketed in other Member States.