Global demand has continued to surge for the high-value manuka honey, making a lucrative market for fakers.
But researchers at Comvita, Analytica Laboratories and the Unique Manuka Factor Honey Association have now cracked the manuka code and developed a test to detect the chemical fingerprint, thus providing markets with greater certainty about its provenance.
Honey was a challenging product to assign to a certain floral source and the test aimed to measure the probability of a product being “wholly and predominately” from a definitive flower, in this case manuka, Comvita chief technical officer Dr Ralf Schlothauer said.
The manuka product received priority for having a more definitive test after overseas reports on the level of fake manuka product circulating in the United Kingdom and Chinese markets.
The manuka market was also experiencing major growth in demand from Asia, in particular.
In the year to August, New Zealand generated almost$250 million in exports from honey sales, up 34% on the previous year and double the value exported in 2012.
The test could indicate the presence of manuka nectar in a honey sample, distinguishing it from other blended or imitation honey.
The test was developed after the project team went back to honey’s source, nectar, and painstakingly isolated nectar from 200 samples from around NZ.
Previous tests for manuka authenticity included various sensory assessments including colour, taste and viscosity along with a test for the presence of manuka pollen in a sample.
“But the pollen test was flawed.
“Bees seek out pollen as a protein source for bee larvae and pollens get mixed. It was a good pointer to manuka as a source but not definitive enough,” Schlothauer said.
The test identified manuka’s unique chemical markers and the technology also offered the ability to identify four to six other markers also helping fingerprint a sample as manuka.
Researchers could apply the fingerprinting test to other floral varieties that also gained premiums.
Schlothauer said verifying pure manuka honey using traditional tools was nearly impossible given bees’ tendency to mix up their flower types over pollination periods.
The new test increased the probability of accurately determining manuka as the predominant floral source.
With more definitive testing the honey industry could develop niche provenances for floral types in the way different wine varieties had developed.
“Again, you don’t always get a pure wine, for example, a cabernet sauvignon can contain a certain smaller portion of merlot, just as manuka honey may have an element of other flower variety within it.”
Schlothauer said researchers were excited about the potential value options for determining manuka honey with an extremely high level of purity.
There was potential for limited edition type, high-value products that could be packaged, registered and labelled with an emphasis on the unique purity level, similar to a special block of grapes bottled under a distinct label.
The association had applied for a certification trademark to cover manuka honey to protect the use of the name, as trade in imitations threatened to damage the brand’s integrity.
“A cabernet sauvignon can contain a certain smaller portion of merlot, just as manuka honey may have an element of other flower variety within it.”
Ralf Schlothauer
Comvita
Market perceptions of manuka had been complicated by division in the industry over how best to classify manuka honey.
The association’s licences covered about 85% of the manuka honey industry, against the alternative indicator of “active” honey.
While topical (skin) healing health claims were permitted, internal health benefits were no longer allowed.
Comvita’s technical manager Tony Wright said the test was a world-first as other countries also struggled to identify the floral source of honey but had made no progress.
Association general manager John Rawcliffe said the test had been a collaborative effort by the industry and had cost about $700,000 to develop.
“That says something about how the industry has responded to the issues and got in to do something about it.”
