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Evaluation of Mānuka Honey

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In New Zealand, the term “Mānuka Honey” is not just a label but a strictly regulated quality assurance. From MGO content to UMF ratings and TA+ Indicator, this honey’s journey from hive to global markets showcases how tradition and science can create a premium product.

What is Mānuka Honey?

New Zealand Mānuka Honey is produced by bees that pollinate the Mānuka tree (scientific name: Leptospermum scoparium), a representative product of the region. The Mānuka tree belongs to the tea tree family and is an indigenous species of New Zealand. Its flowers produce unique nectar and special natural compounds.

MPI Approval

To be labeled as “Mānuka Honey” for export, it must be tested by laboratories approved by New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to determine whether it is “monofloral” or “multifloral”.

  • Monofloral Mānuka: Bees mainly collect nectar from one type of flower, specifically the Manuka flower.
  • Multifloral Mānuka: Bees collect nectar from Mānuka flowers and many other types of flowers.

UMF: The Gold Standard of Manuka Honey

After passing the MPI inspection, producers can join the UMFHA (Unique Mānuka Factor Honey Association) to obtain higher market recognition.

A key feature of UMF grading is its strict requirement for origin – only honey packaged in New Zealand can obtain UMF certification.

UMFHA’s Mānuka Honey grading is the most credible rating system globally, mainly testing four quality items:

  • Potency: Methylglyoxal (MGO) content
  • Authenticity: Leptosperin content
  • Shelf life: Dihydroxyacetone (DHA) content
  • Freshness: Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) content

MGO: Simplified Market Indicator

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Although the UMF rating system is comprehensive, the market focuses on the MGO (Methylglyoxal) content. This is because other indicators mainly evaluate quality rather than efficacy, but the market hype around Mānuka Honey primarily focuses on the effects of MGO.

UMF is divided into five grades: 5+/10+/15+/20+/25+. The main difference from 15+ onwards is the MGO content, which is why many marketing strategies only look at MGO content.

However, UMFHA has officially announced that there is no direct method to convert MGO content into UMF ratings. This announcement might be because MGO can now be “independently added” (the wonders of chemistry).

Therefore, it’s possible to find honey with high MGO content but no UMF rating or honey-derived products with high MGO content in the market.

TA+: Emerging Competitive Indicator

The emergence of Total Activity (TA+) represents a further complication in the honey market evaluation system.

MPI inspection and UMF rating both provide quantitative standards for specific chemical components.

However, the standards and calculation methods for Total Activity (TA+) are not yet clear. Some sources suggest that the TA+ rating measures peroxidase activity (PA) and non-peroxidase activity (NPA), claiming that higher TA values indicate stronger antimicrobial and antibacterial capabilities.

Some producers have even developed “TA+/MGO/UMF” calculators to establish new value positioning in the market.

There are also indications that TA+ is a marketing tactic developed by Australian honey producers to compete with New Zealand’s Mānuka Honey producers.

Even some local New Zealand producers who lack sufficient Mānuka Honey production capacity (or don’t want to pay fees to UMFHA) have started using TA+ for marketing.

Conclusion

The development trajectory of the Mānuka Honey market demonstrates how a natural product can be transformed into a high-value branded commodity. A complete industrial ecosystem has formed from government regulation to industry self-discipline and market competition strategies. Each step in this process – establishing strict quality standards or developing new evaluation systems – reflects market participants’ efforts to seek competitive advantages while continuously redefining product value.

The story of Mānuka Honey is not just about honey but about establishing and maintaining a unique national brand in the global market. It showcases how product differentiation, quality control, market strategy, and regulatory policies interact to shape a high-value niche market. Mānuka honey undoubtedly provides a case study worth in-depth research for other countries and industries seeking to establish distinctive products in the global market.

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