Manuka rating labels can be so confusing! But to ensure you purchase real manuka honey you do need to understand them. Look for the following ratings, just having 'active' or 'bioactive' on a label is not a true indication it is pure manuka honey.

Non-Peroxide Activity (NPA)

Only manuka honey has NPA. This non-peroxide activity is rated to signify the level of antibacterial strength. The higher the rating the higher the activity and therefore the greater the healing power (just like SPF in sunscreen is an indicator of sun protection). Generally, a rating of 0-4 is undetected, 5-9 is used for maintenance, 10-14 for therapeutic usage and 15+ has very high activity levels for therapeutic usage.
 

Unique Manuka Factor (UMF)

Unique Manuka Factor is a branding that is generally affordable for large commercial operators and provides an assurance to overseas customers that testing for activity meets international requirements. The test for this rating is NPA (as discussed above), for example a 5+UMF is the same at 5+ NPA.

 

Methylglyoxal (MG or MGO)

is disagreement within the industry on the consistent reliability of NPA results and therefore methylglyoxal testing is now required. Methylglyoxal is the active ingredient responsible for the non-peroxide antibacterial activity in Manuka honey. It is a naturally occurring and stable compound that can be consistently and reliably tested. Methylglyoxal does correlate to NPA, the higher the MG rating the higher the NPA rating.
 

This label shows an example of the NPA and MG ratings on one label, the 12+ is the NPA rating.

 
Here's an example of some comparisons:

 

Methylglyoxal (MG)	Non Peroxide Activity / UMF, approx equivalent
83	5+
146	7+
356	12+
829	20+
1200	25+

Methylglyoxal is the new industry marker for antibacterial activity, so you will see this on most manuka honey labels, or UMF for those that pay for the UMF branding.
 

Manuka labels can be so confusing!  But I'm going to try and demystify that for you.  Let's start with mono-floral and multi-floral manuka.

Mono-Floral Manuka

Mono-floral honey comes from a single flower source. Mono-floral manuka honey means that the bees predominately foraged on manuka flowers, therefore it's a more pure manuka honey.


 

Multi-Floral Manuka

Muti-flora honey is from a mix of flower sources. For a manuka honey to be labeled as 'multi-floral manuka it means that there are other floral sources in the honey as well as manuka.


This year our bees feasted on manuka and kanuka at our Four Brothers Reserves apiary site and the honey has been tested as a multi-floral manuka with an MG104 activity.  Check it out.

We also have a mono-floral Ohui Manuka honey with an MG139 activity.  Check that out.

More on what the 'activity' ratings mean in my next blog post.

 

 

One of our boys is home with a sore throat. This is my go-to recipe when anyone has cold or flu symptoms, it works wonders!
 

Ingredients

• 2 lemons
• 2 cm root ginger
• 10 - 20 ml high-quality Echinacea tincture*
• clove of garlic (optional)
• 1 - 2 Tbsp Sweetree raw honey

 

Method

1. Grate rind of lemons and ginger root, crush garlic, and pour 1 litre of boiling water over and leave to steep for 10 minutes (or longer).
2. Add lemon juice and strain.
3. Add Echinacea and honey, stir to dissolve.
4. Drink the entire brew over the course of a day. Keep it in a thermos to keep it warm.

Note:

Use less Echinacea if you want a preventative brew, and a higher dose if you feel you are coming down with a cold or flu or you already have one. 
You can also add more garlic, just chew parsley to get the smell off your breath. (Parsley is also high in vitamin C for fighting infections).

* You can get Echinacea from most health shops, pharmacies, your local herbalist or herbal dispensary.  

Created by Helen Donnison- Medical Herbalist and Naturopath, Hamilton
 

Purchase Sweetree honey 

Honey is one of the oldest known sweeteners.  It has been an essential part of our diet since the earliest times and there is increased interest in its culinary and health properties.  Not only is it delicious to eat, but honey is also hailed for its medicinal properties – it is anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal, and packed with highly valuable nutrients.

All honey has some naturally occurring antibacterial qualities (peroxide activity).  This is due to the high levels of sugar in the honey, therefore fewer water molecules, which makes it hard for bacteria to grow. Hydrogen Peroxide can easily be damaged by light and heat.  This is one of the reasons why at Sweetree Honey we are very careful not to damage our honey with heat, so all our honey retain some antibacterial properties.

Some Manuka honey has a special healing quality that occurs when the bee takes manuka nectar and adds a honey ripening enzyme as they are storing the honey in the hive.   This healing quality has a special antibacterial activity, it gives a wider range and greater antibacterial power and allows the honey to absorb deeper into human tissue.  This special component is only found in NZ Manuka and Australian Jellybush honey.  In New Zealand it's been know as 'active Manuka honey'.
 
Manuka honey is a truly amazing natural, therapeutic food that can be used to heal internally and externally.   It is highly effective in treating wounds, burns, acne, ringworm, and other skin conditions. Consumed regularly manuka honey can help relieve joint pain, improve sore throats, coughs, colds, relieve stomach ulcers, lower blood pressure, nourish & heal skin, and increase immunity to sustain great health, naturally.
 

Read more about Manuka Honey

 

Check out Sweetree's manuka honey