manuka honey How to Avoid the Fake Stuff and Make a Bee-line for the Real Thing
To guarantee purity, quality and authenticity, look for licensed and graded mānuka honey from New Zealand with a UMF™ number and, ideally, an MGO level and a traceability system. Mānuka honey, made exclusively from mānuka flowers, is a unique tasting honey with a long history of traditional use. Fierce global demand for mānuka has driven up prices and attracted counterfeit and adulterated products. It’s estimated that twothirds of global mānuka products are not the real thing.
higher the concentration of these compounds. None of these compounds on their own, nor rating systems based on pollen count, are enough to guarantee authenticity. MGO is one of the main ingredients unique to mānuka honey, so some brands are also measured and graded according to the honey’s MGO content.
New Zealand’s Unique Mānuka Factor Honey Association™ and Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) are two key bulwarks against counterfeit honey. Real mānuka has a specific “chemical fingerprint” that counterfeit honey cannot match.
New Zealand mānuka honey is also authenticated through lab testing under New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI). Mānuka honey must pass five tests to be considered authentic and 100% pure.
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Reputable mānuka honey brands are licensed by 400 + the Unique Mānuka Factor Honey Association™, an MGO internationally recognized third party that ensures identity, key ingredient levels and quality. UMF™ graded products have been tested for three signature compounds: Leptosperin, DHA (Dihydroxyacetone) and Methylglyoxal (MGO). The higher the UMF™ number on the product, the
Some companies offer a traceability system as an additional layer of transparency. Using a smart phone, consumers can scan the label to learn more about their jar of honey (batch specific info, region info, lab test results, UMF™ certification, etc.). This, along with the UMF™ license, helps ensure confidence the consumer is getting authentic mānuka honey and not adulterated or counterfeit honey.
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