Raw Honey is a term used by people to describe Honey that has been extracted from the honeycomb and jarred with minimal processing.

 

To abide by the current food regulations the honey must be filtered after extraction.  This is the minimum level of processing.

 

To get the honey to flow through a filter which is fine enough to satisfy Food Standards requires that it has a low viscosity.

 

Honey has a low viscosity when in the hive.  So if the beekeeper is able to remove the honey from the hive and extract it immediatley, before it has a chance to cool, it can be filtered.  This is very difficult to achieve.

 

If the honey cools either before or after extraction then, to reduce the viscosity, the honey must be heated to about 50ºC for a period of time.  Not all Beekeepers have the facilities to accurately control this heating process.

Once the honey has been filtered it must be put into the jars, ready for sale.  In the jar the honey will, over time, naturally granulate, becoming cloudy and eventually becoming solid.

It would be illegal to use the term "Raw Honey" on a label to describe the honey in a jar.  The Honey Regulations (2015) gives a specific list of names that can be legally used to describe honey.

(Link to Honey (England) Regulations 2015)