Identifying Authentic Manuka Honey - Manuka Honey MGO & UMF

How is Manuka Honey MGO Certified?

Raw manuka honey are quite popular for their beneficial medicinal effects. With about 300+ types of honey available, manuka honey is the superior honey for this purpose. Due to the increasing studies demonstrating the increased medicinal benefits, it's no wonder the peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Microbiology declared that manuka honey is no longer a "folklore remedy".

The wonders of genuine manuka honey are derived from the collection of natural compounds, found in the pristine untouched landscapes of New Zealand. We call this the Unique Manuka Factor - UMF. You will not find the UMF in any manuka honey that is not authentic New Zealand Manuka Honey MGO.
The creamy, delicious, antioxidant-rich honey has increased in popularity across the globe and it's seriously no wonder considering the jam-packed benefits it has. However, as manuka gains traction, so does the number of fake manuka.
Genuine manuka honey costs a pretty penny too, the last thing you want is to waste your hard-earned money on manuka honey which fails to prove its authenticity, purity, and potency.

Rare New Zealand Manuka is a proud member of the Unique Manuka Factor Honey Association (UMFHA). Our manuka honey undergoes stringent testing protocols, giving you the assurance you need that you are choosing the right honey for your health and wellness journey.

QUALITY ASSURANCE SYSTEM + 4-FACTOR QUALITY ASSURANCE TESTING = UMF™ CERTIFIED LOGO

How do we make it happen?

Identified 2300+ natural chemical components — these naturally occurring chemical components is what makes New Zealand manuka honey so complex and unique.
Only products harvested, batch-tested, packed, and sealed in New Zealand, ready for consumers are approved by UMFHA.
100% pure — New Zealand has zero honey imports.
Traceable — all retail products are traceable to independent UMF™ batch certification.
Four Factor Quality Testing — a comprehensive quality test to enhance the New Zealand government benchmark test identifying if honey is true manuka.
Global laboratory network — to test products in the market and validate quality after leaving New Zealand.
Global research partner network — continuing to expand knowledge of our honey and benefits.
Partnerships with global standards organizations and regulatory officials — to ensure UMF™ standards protect their consumers.

How do we certify manuka honey?

The 4-factor testing implemented adds a genuine quality test on top of the New Zealand government world-class biosecurity and food safety regulations and export standards, enabling New Zealand’s best quality manuka honey to be identified and rated:

MGO (methylglyoxal) — minimum potency measure for the shelf life of the honey.

Leptosperin — is unique to mānuka, and only produced in nature, signifies authenticity.

DHA (dihydroxyacetone) a precursor of MGO, maintains benefits for shelf life.

HMF (hydroxymethylfurfural) — indicating the product has not been overheated or stored too long, and retains the benefits as promised on pack.

The New Zealand Fernmark

Our range of Rare New Zealand Manuka Honey has been sustainably harvested, carefully stored, and processed with the least possible interference to ensure it retains its unique natural properties.
Rare New Zealand Manuka Honey is committed to providing assurances by independently testing and certifying the purity, potency, authenticity, and quality. Every jar boasts the trusted certifications of the UMFHA and the New Zealand FernMark.

The FernMark officially recognized and endorsed by the New Zealand Government, is a mark of trust that communicates a product's country of origin and connection to New Zealand.

Carrying the FernMark on a product, together with a unique Licence number, makes it easy for consumers to verify its authenticity, which helps promote and protect New Zealand-branded products on a global scale.

Rare New Zealand carries the UMF™ association assurance and the New Zealand FernMark.

Real or Fake Manuka Honey?

Real Manuka Honey	Fake Manuka Honey
Grading Systems There are two types of grading systems - UMF and MGO. These are very common and present on bottles of manuka where independant testing has taken place. These two gradings will give you a clear idea of its potency and authenticity.	No Ratings If you pick up a bottle of manuka where the UMF and MGO ratings are not present, this should alert you to think twice. The UMF and MGO ratings are standard procedures carried out on any genuine New Zealand Manuka Honey.
Testing Any reputable brand will have their honey tested by a third party institute. This is very standard pactice and verifies the authenticity and potency of the honey. These test measures check for chemical markers such as MGO, DHA, Leptosperin and HMF. All of which are unique to genuine New Zealand Manuka Honey. The outcome of the test would be the presence UMF and MGO stamps on the bottle as well as a letter of certification the company would have.	No Certifications Any reputable manuka honey organization will be able to produce certifications to prove quality assurance in their manuka honey. These certificates would have been issued to the organisation once the tests were complete.
Check the Origin You will know a genuine bottle of Manuka Honey when you can trace its origin back to New Zealand. Pure, authentic manuka will proudly boast the origin information as this is one of the main key factors in proving its purity.	Unknown Origin Any manuka honey that has not stated it is from New Zealand is instantly a red flag. Genuine Manuka Honey is exclusively harvested and packed in New Zealand. It would make no sense to not boast this on the label.

Is MGO equivalent to UMF™?

No, UMF™ is a more comprehensive measurement of the quality factors that matter when assessing the quality of a manuka honey product. MGO is one of four factors measured to ensure consumers around the world get a pure potent genuine New Zealand manuka honey product that will meet their needs and expectations.

Manuka Honey MGO

MGO is a rating comprising of a single component Methylglyoxal, to give it its full name, is a key source of golden manuka honey’s special antibacterial properties and an important potency measure. The higher the MGO, the stronger the concentration of Methylglyoxal.

UMF™ Unique Manuka Factor

UMF is a rating comprised of four components

MGO FOR POTENCY - Methylglyoxal, is measured and included within the UMF™ guarantee meaning that you can be sure that Manuka honey bearing the UMF™ mark contains the special activity.

LEPTOSPERIN FOR AUTHENTICITY - Leptosperin is a compound found only in manuka flower nectar and can only be created by nature. Measuring this unique component ensures the authenticity of manuka honey. Laboratory research also shows leptosperin content has anti-inflammatory properties that grow as the UMF™ scale increases.

DHA FOR SHELF LIFE - Dihydroxyacetone (as it’s known to us) is slowly converted to MGO in healthy living honey. The higher the DHA content, the longer the life of the MGO content in your manuka honey – which is why the best manuka honey must have more than 70 mg/kg DHA to be UMF™ certified.

HMF FOR FRESHNESS - We test for hydroxymethylfurfural, since this long-named compound assures honey has not been overheated or stored too long, and is in the best condition to maintain the unique blend of living properties in manuka honey as promised by Rare New Zealand.

Where does your honey come from?

"Our Manuka Honey comes from the precarious banks of the Rangitikei River - found on the edge of a volcanic plateau on New Zealand's Central North Island.

With an abundance of Leptospermum Scoparium “Manuka Trees’’ and no other nectar sources around, contamination and dilution of the manuka nectar are near impossible. This combination along with the high altitude, weather, and volcanic soil set the stage for creating this Rare Alpine Harvest. Truly a natural masterpiece.

Because of the abundance of Manuka and absence of any other nectar sources, we were confident that our bees would collect only pure Manuka nectar, this was both tremendously exciting for the purity of honey our bees would be able to produce, and challenging in the sense that there were no other floral sources around for the bees to forage before and after the Manuka bloom." - Straight from the Rare New Zealand beekeepers