After three years of formulation and research MPI has released the scientific definition to authenticate manuka honey, coming after the product has been under pressure from media overseas about authenticity in some markets because of fake products being sold under the manuka descriptor.
Manuka honey has long been victim of fake food claims, with estimates of the 10,000 tonnes sold around the world each year far outweighing the annual 1700t New Zealand produces.
Last year upmarket United Kingdom grocer Fortnum & Mason withdrew manuka honey from its shelves after tests raised questions over its genuineness.
The definition released by MPI uses four chemical attributes and a DNA marker to formally determine the honey’s origin.
Karin Kos, Apiculture NZ chief executive, acknowledged the test had been a long time coming but said the industry was fully supportive of an initiative that would remove much of the risk from mislabelling or incorrect identification from the product.
She said Apiculture NZ has appointed an expert review team to examine the definition proposal.
“We only get one shot at this. We want to support MPI in getting it right and we want to also review a lot of ground-breaking science around this definition.”
She said a clear, tight and widely endorsed approach to authenticating NZ manuka honey would give international partners confidence in the ability of the industry and the country to protect the product’s integrity.
John Rawcliffe, spokesman for the Unique Manuka Factor Honey Association (UMFHA), said the scientifically-proven formula for authenticating manuka honey didn’t mean his association’s certification was in any way undermined.
“This really reinforces what we are already doing. We will now have an overarching standard that everyone has to comply with in an industry that has been fragmented.”
His organisation started partly because of frustration within the industry over the time taken to develop an effective manuka honey certification process.
It has more than 100 beekeepers, producers and exporters accredited to display the unique manuka factor (UMF) quality indicator on manuka honey products.
He said the value proposition to continue having an UMF accreditation for producers was the association’s ability to analyse other aspects of the honey’s quality parameters, to grade it on levels of manuka content and to certify the manuka source.
“It is a bit like a diamond, and defining why this particular diamond is worth more than that particular diamond on grounds of its level of purity.”
Rawcliffe said tribute should be made to the scientists involved in setting the manuka honey authentication test.
They included Dr Jonathan Stephens who refined the techniques of collecting nectar and sampling, and Dr Terry Braggins, who developed the techniques for analysing honey for its origin using mass spectrometry techniques.
“The techniques developed here have been ground-breaking and have changed the traditional, outmoded and ineffectual ways of measuring a mono-floral honey, particularly a manuka honey which is of such high value,” Rawcliffe said.
“Watching these gentlemen present on a world stage, you can clearly say they have lead the way.”
Consultation on the authentication proposal closes on May 23 and MPI aims to bring the requirements into effect in late July.
