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Mānuka honey () is a monofloral honey produced from the nectar of the mānuka tree, Leptospermum scoparium.
The mānuka tree is indigenous to New Zealand and some parts of coastal Australia. The word mānuka is the Māori name of the tree; however, as with many Māori words, the older spelling manuka (without a macron) remains relatively common in English.
Mānuka honey is markedly Viscosity due to the presence of a protein or colloid – its main visually defining characteristic, along with its typical dark cream to dark brown colour.
The mānuka tree flowers at the same time as Kunzea ericoides, another Myrtaceae species also called kānuka, which often shares the same growing areas. Some cannot readily differentiate these species, as both flowers have similar morphology and pollen differentiation between the two species is difficult.
The UMF Honey Association was originally known as the Active Mānuka Honey Association (AMHA), and was formed in 2002. In 2011, the AMHA became The Unique Manuka Factor Honey Association (UMFHA).
The Australian Mānuka Honey Association (AMHA) was established in 2017 following the discontinuation of the New Zealand Mānuka Honey industry's use of the acronym AMHA. They established a set of standards for authentic Australian mānuka honey to be pure natural mānuka honey, produced entirely in Australia, and be tested by an independent, approved laboratory to ensure it meets minimum standards of naturally occurring methylglyoxal (MGO), dihydroxyacetone (DHA), and leptosperin; authenticity carries the AMHA's Mark of Authenticity. The Australian standard of authencitiy requires that mānuka honey has at least 85 mg per kg of MGO and 170 mg per kg of DHA. According to the AMHA, "MGO is responsible for much of the special activity of mānuka honey", deriving from the honey chemical DHA, which occurs naturally in the flower nectar of mānuka trees.
In the UK, mānuka honey is graded with MGO and NPA (non-peroxide activity). NPA measures the non-peroxide activity in the honey. The NPA is positively correlated with MGO content and is made to be numerically near-identical to the UMF.
There is also a K-Factor rating, which counts the number of pollens. It has no correlation with the concentration of any active chemical. UMF, MGS, and K-Factor all imply that the honey is genuine.
In governmental agency tests in the UK between 2011 and 2013, a majority of mānuka-labeled honeys sampled lacked the non-peroxide anti-microbial activity of mānuka honey. Likewise, of 73 samples tested by UMFHA in Britain, China, and Singapore in 2012–13, 43 tested negative. Separate UMFHA tests in Hong Kong found that 14 out of 56 mānuka honeys sampled had been adulterated with syrup. In 2013, the UK Food Standards Agency asked trading standards authorities to alert mānuka honey vendors to the need for legal compliance.
The UMFHA trademarked a honey rating system called Unique Mānuka Factor, but there is a confusing range of competing rating systems for mānuka honeys. In one UK chain in 2013, two products were labeled "12+ active" and "30+ total activity", respectively, for "naturally occurring peroxide activity", and another "active 12+" for "total phenol activity", yet none of the three was labeled for strength of the non-peroxide antimicrobial activity specific to mānuka honey.
Composition
Mānuka honey is composed primarily of fructose and glucose, with smaller amounts of sucrose and maltose, having a relatively higher total sugar content compared to Malaysia honeys.
Food characteristics
Mānuka honey has a strong flavour, characterised as "earthy, oily, herbaceous",Julie Biuso, Sizzle: Sensational Barbecue Food, Monterey, Cal.: Julie Biuso Publications, 2008, p. 154 and "florid, rich and complex".Crescent Dragonwagon, Passionate Vegetarian, New York: Workman Publishing Co., 2002, p. 958 It is described by the New Zealand honey industry as having a "damp earth, heather, aromatic" aroma and a "mineral, slightly bitter" flavour.
Grading
In New Zealand, mānuka honey is graded by the amount of natural signature chemicals it contains. In New Zealand, single-flower mānuka honey is dual-graded using MGO (methylglyoxal) concentration in mg/kg and UMF (Unique Manuka Factor). Blended (multifloral) mānuka is graded using the MGS system, which has a linear relationship with MGO value, but is numerically different from UMF.
+ Manuka Honey Ratings from MGO
! MGO (mg/kg)
! UMF/NPA
! MGS () 83 5 4.2 263 10 9.3 514 15 14.3 696 18 17.9 829 20 20.6 1122 24 26.4 1282 26 29.6 1450 28 33
Controversy
Grading, counterfeit, and adulteration
As a result of the high premium paid for mānuka honey, an increasing number of products now labeled as such worldwide are adulterated or counterfeit. According to research by the Unique Mānuka Factor Honey Association (UMFHA), the main trade association of New Zealand mānuka honey producers (New Zealand being the main producer of mānuka honey in the world), while only of mānuka honey are produced in New Zealand every year, six times as much are marketed internationally as mānuka honey, of which are in the UK alone.
Crime
There have been increasing turf disputes between producers operating close to large mānuka tree clumps. Cases have been reported of many hives being variously sabotaged, poisoned, or stolen.
See also
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