# Manuka Honey



## AHudd (Mar 5, 2015)

I thought Manuka Honey was, by definition, monofloral.















I would like to try some, but I want the real deal. Does anyone know the name of a reputable 
Company you would share?

Alex


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## AstroZomBEE (Aug 1, 2006)

It's probably mostly manuka. Like any honey source it's hard to get 100% on floral source. I think standards say as long as it 51% one floral source you call it the majority, even though there could be other honies collected at the same time.
That said i am not current on labeling laws of new zealand.

I have made Tupelo here in the states and had samples analyzed, pretty sure it was like 80% Tupelo, with like a dozen other pollens detected in .5 to 2 % variables.

Also that looks like a wal mart price label. I'd source it strait from a kiwi if you want to guarantee it's the good stuff.

Aaron


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

Let's see if @Oldtimer has an opinion on this product.


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

I have this sample I pictured in Nov 2020.
Both multi and mono - see labels.
The mono is a bit more pricey.
Never bought it. 
The label "simple truth" is the in store brand of Kroger Foods.
Who knows if/where/how this is (re)packaged.


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## Oldtimer (Jul 4, 2010)

Rader Sidetrack said:


> Let's see if @Oldtimer has an opinion on this product.


Well first off it is highly likely all those jars pictured have been repackaged outside of New Zealand in some country where NZ regulations do not apply.

An MGO 50 indicates a very low percentage of active manuka honey in it, and if packaged in NZ for export would almost certainly not be allowed to be sold as Manuka Honey. The other jars shown by Greg do not even give anything to indicate the manuka honey content, unless it is shown somewhere else on the label not pictured. So I would dismiss those as probably not manuka or just a tiny percentage.

If you want a reasonably pure active manuka honey, none of those jars will be the real deal, and the other give away is of course the price, genuine manuka honey is worth quite a bit more than that.

In New Zealand, all honey packaged for export has to be laboratory tested to prove the manuka content. Very pure can be sold as manuka, small amount of other honeys it can be sold as multi floral manuka, and anything less than that can not be claimed to be manuka on the label. Where the problem comes in is some honeys that contain manuka but not enough to pass the test are exported in bulk, and then repackaged in other countries where they can say whatever they like on the label. IE, Manukora? What is that? 🙄.
So although the label may say _product of New Zealand_, if it was packed somewhere else be suspicious of any claims they are probably fake.


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## AHudd (Mar 5, 2015)

Thanks for the rundown on Manuka, OT.
I'll bet China has their fingerprints on this. I have also read that Australia is trying to get into the game.
Do you know the name of an exporter of Manuka you would be willing to share, because I'm doubting any of the claims being made by sellers. The fraudsters have become so adept at deception that I have probably passed on some legitimate Manuka.
Thanks 
Alex


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

Oldtimer said:


> The other jars shown by Greg do not even give anything to indicate the manuka honey content, unless it is shown somewhere else on the label not pictured. So I would dismiss those as probably not manuka or just a tiny percentage.


Next time I shop there I will take a picture of the jar's back side.
I did not know any better. 
Thanks OT!


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## Oldtimer (Jul 4, 2010)

AHudd said:


> I'll bet China has their fingerprints on this.


I don't think they (mainland China) are into producing fake manuka honey, they are more into low end fake honey, but there have been a number of Chinese nationals here in NZ producing fraudulent manuka honey and sending it to China. There was even a Chinese owned business just a couple of miles from my house that was buying normal honey then adding the needed chemicals to it to get it through the lab test as manuka and sending it to contacts in China. They were dealt with severely in court as it this type of thing is damaging to our reputation internationally. Shoulda seen the BS on their web site 🙄 unfortunately I can't link it it's gone now along with their business.

Problem is the money involved, like they say, money is the root of all evil. A $5 jar of honey could be worth $50 if it can be presented as manuka. So unscrupulous people have entered the industry. And yes, Australia has now jumped on the bandwagon, they have a plant in the same family but slightly different that they call jellybush, however they have now decided to rebrand it manuka and are selling "manuka" honey into the world market. It tastes very different to NZ manuka, and unlike NZ, the Australian manuka industry is completely unregulated they can make any claim they like on the label, long as no health regulations are breached.
The extra production plus bad publicity caused by fraud has caused a big drop in the price of manuka honey worldwide. However it is still an expensive honey.



AHudd said:


> Do you know the name of an exporter of Manuka you would be willing to share


Yes, here is the web site of Waitemata Honey. These are the guys I deal with they are straight up and honest, and they extract my honey for me and buy whatever is manuka, the rest of the honey is my problem to get rid of. If buying honey from them, the honey in the jar will be whatever is claimed on the label.

Waitematahoney.co.nz


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## beemandan (Dec 5, 2005)

I expect that most of the real stuff in the US sits on the shelf at a hospital’s burn unit. Clinically tested and approved for the topical treatment of wounds and burns. I’m pretty sure that one cannot buy that for $15 – 20 USD.


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## Gino45 (Apr 6, 2012)

Oldtimer said:


> If you want a reasonably pure active manuka honey, none of those jars will be the real deal, and the other give away is of course the price, genuine manuka honey is worth quite a bit more than that.


_In my ongoing role of Devil's Advocate regarding things south of the Equator, I will humbly suggest that the words 'sells for' should/could be substituted for 'is worth' in the above statement._
g
_Whenever I see a very small jar of honey selling for a very high price, I think 'good marketing' 
and 'take it if you can get it'. I am always skeptical about the inherent value of such products.

As an aside, I have heard that Brazilian pepper honey possesses many of the same qualities said 
to exist in Manuka honey. Does anybody here know anything about that?_


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## beemandan (Dec 5, 2005)

Gino45 said:


> _As an aside, I have heard that Brazilian pepper honey possesses many of the same qualities said
> to exist in Manuka honey. Does anybody here know anything about that?_


To my knowledge New Zealand is the only country that has had the good sense to run actual clinical trials on the topical use of honey. It’s a rather expensive process but has been worth it, in my opinion.

They even went so far as to invent a term, Unique Manuka Factor (UMF) to rate the relative potency of Manuka honey.

Marketing at its best. Ya got to admire it.


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

beemandan said:


> *To my knowledge New Zealand is the only country that has had the good sense to run actual clinical trials on the topical use of honey.* It’s a rather expensive process but has been worth it, in my opinion.
> 
> They even went so far as to invent a term, Unique Manuka Factor (UMF) to rate the relative potency of Manuka honey.
> 
> Marketing at its best. Ya got to admire it.


Why, maybe you mean as applied to the English-speak world.
There is plenty of literature (not necessarily in English but just as credible) - this Romanian review is conveniently translated and even US government published:








Up-to-date use of honey for burns treatment


Made by bees from the nectar of flowers, used since ancient times to treat wounds and burns, honey has lately acquired a growing interest from the international scientific community and has been the subject of many specialized studies and communications. ...




www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

I'll be darned, turns out I had another Manuka honey picture (back from November 2019).
Sold by HyVee, I am pretty sure.
Whooping KFACTOR(tm) 16 - whatever it means.


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## Oldtimer (Jul 4, 2010)

GregB said:


> Whooping KFACTOR(tm) 16 - whatever it means.


LOL, I remember when Wedderspoon set up here. As memory serves they are an American firm who set up a beekeeping operation in New Zealand with a view to produce manuka honey and sell it back home in America. Their honey does comply with NZ legal requirements, but rather than compete with other manuka honeys on the basis of UMF or MGO content, they wrote up their own standard called KFACTOR tm 16. This means the honey meets 5 criterion they have designed, which are - the honey is traceable to the hives, it is non GMO, it is packed in NZ, it is unpasteurized, it is free of glyphosate and antibiotics.
All that is relatively meaningless as the majority of NZ honey would fall into that anyhow, and it avoids having to say what the MGO content of the honey is so it might have very little activity, as is the case for a lot of manuka honey in the South Island where they are based. 
But hey, KFACTOR tm 16 written on the label sure looks good though 😄


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## beemandan (Dec 5, 2005)

GregB said:


> Why, maybe you mean as applied to the English-speak world.


Go to any burn unit in any hospital you choose and see what honey is on their shelf. It will be a certified Manuka.

I doubt if any of those ‘trials’ listed in your article were acceptable to the FDA to allow a particular brand to be used in a professional medical setting.

I may be wrong. At your local hospital they may be using Kroger brand. But….I doubt it.


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## Joseph Clemens (Feb 12, 2005)

My wife was a paraplegic from MS for 20 years, her pressure relieving mattress failed, unexpectedly and she developed the worst pressure sore she ever had. It was at the base of her spine, and I being her caregiver was shocked that my fist would have fit into it. We remedied the faulty mattress, used the usual Silver sulfadiazine, but the sore persisted. It wasn't getting any worse, but no better, either. Our doctor recommended that we try Manuka honey. I purchased some on Amazon, began using it as soon as it arrived. This sore had remained open for more than a month, but within the first day of Manuka honey, I could see improvement, and within a week, it was healed. All that happened, just before Covid arrived. A little while after that, our nephew, who works on roofs installing solar panel systems, had a near fatal accident, getting electrical burns on his hands and feet (he had gotten nearly electrocuted by thousands of volts of DC electricity). We gave him our jar of Manuka honey, he reported that it helped him heal quickly and well. Though he now has a chronic heart condition, due to this accident.


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

beemandan said:


> Go to any burn unit in any hospital you choose and see what honey is on their shelf. It will be a certified Manuka.
> 
> I doubt if any of those ‘trials’ listed in your article were acceptable to the FDA to allow a particular brand to be used in a professional medical setting.
> 
> I may be wrong. At your local hospital they may be using Kroger brand. But….I doubt it.


You said:


> To my knowledge New Zealand is *the only country* that has had the good sense to run actual clinical trials on the topical use of honey


I said:
Not so.
Many countries have.

The hospitals with burn units are found *across the globe.*
Many of them have been using honey of various sourcing (in fact, long before the Manuka was even marketed).
NZ has no monopoly on this subject - honey treatments of the burn injuries.
This his All I am saying.


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## Oldtimer (Jul 4, 2010)

Joseph Clemens said:


> This sore had remained open for more than a month, but within the first day of Manuka honey, I could see improvement, and within a week, it was healed.


This is exactly what manuka honey is good for, healing infected wounds, and sores that otherwise will not heal. To greatly outperform other honeys though it must be a highly active (high MGO) manuka honey. A low grade manuka honey will only be as effective as any other random honey. You probably lucked out and got a good one.


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