Be all sugar and honey!
Manuka honey, made exclusively from mānuka flowers, is a honey with a unique taste and great antibacterial properties. Fierce global demand for mānuka honey has driven up prices and attracted counterfeit and adulterated products. Mānuka honey has become a highly prized commodity, and it is estimated that two-thirds of mānuka products worldwide are not authentic.
In a world where antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains are becoming increasingly common, mānuka honey could have a therapeutic role to play. Therefore, safeguarding its authenticity has never been more important. In New Zealand, the Unique Mānuka Factor Honey Association™ and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) are two essential safeguards against counterfeit honey. Real mānuka honey has a specific "chemical fingerprint" that counterfeit honey cannot match.
Flora’s mānuka honey is licensed by the Unique Mānuka Factor Honey Association™, an internationally recognized third party that guarantees identity, potency, and quality. UMF™-rated products have been tested for three signature compounds: leptosperin, DHA (dihydroxyacetone), and methylglyoxal (MGO). The higher the product's UMF™ number, the higher the concentration of these compounds. None of these compounds alone, nor pollen count-based rating systems, are sufficient to guarantee authenticity. MGO is the primary antibacterial ingredient unique to mānuka honey. Flora mānuka honey is also measured and graded based on the MGO content of the honey. Flora offers a variety of potencies ranging from 30 MGO up to 515 MGO. This is a measure of the amount of MGO in the honey – so 515 means there is 515 mg of MGO per kilogram of honey.
New Zealand mānuka honey is also authenticated by laboratory tests under the auspices of the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI). Mānuka honey must pass 5 tests to be considered authentic and 100% pure.
As an additional element of transparency, Flora mānuka honey uses a traceability system. Using a smartphone, consumers can scan the label to learn more about their jar of honey (lot-specific information, region, lab test results, UMF certification, etc.) Thus, the UMF™ license helps guarantee to the consumer that they are getting authentic mānuka honey and not adulterated or counterfeit honey.
Flora's range of mānuka honey products comes from the Onuku Lands Trust, a 100% Māori-owned business based in Whakatane, New Zealand. The honey comes from several locations on the North Island of New Zealand: Mount Tarawera/Lake Rotomahana and the Central Plateau, East Cape, and Northland regions. The honey is unpasteurized, filtered, creamed, churned at low temperatures (50–70°C) for several days, and then aged to increase the MGO content to a standardized quantity.
Research on mānuka honey is ongoing, and hundreds of studies are currently available online on PubMed. Methylglyoxal (MGO) is the main antibacterial ingredient in mānuka honey and was first identified in 2005. Researchers found that mānuka honey contained MGO amounts ranging from 38 to 761 mg/kg, up to 100 times more than traditional honey. Cell studies have shown that it can inhibit a wide range of pathogens (e.g., Clostridium difficile, Escherichia coli, Helicobacter pylori, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus spp., Streptococcus spp.), prevent and eradicate biofilms, and work synergistically with antibiotics. It also promotes healing and hydration of the skin and mucous membranes. The effects of honey are local, wherever it comes into contact. It can therefore be useful for soothing and supporting the health of the mouth, gums, throat, stomach, and intestines. Take it directly by the spoon or visit Flora's recipes section for delicious ways to incorporate it into other foods and drinks.