The frenzy for a rare honey ‘superfood’ continues to grow – with the newest brand being launched in the UK.
Maunka honey comes from bees that have been busy pollinating the Manuka trees that grow almost exclusively in the East Cape region of New Zealand.
It has developed a reputation as a rare ‘healing food’ thanks to an extra ingredient called UMF which has antibacterial qualities and is not found other honeys.
Family Foods Ltd has now launched Europe’s first new Manuka honey brand which is fully compliant with labelling guidelines published by the New Zealand Government.
MGO® Manuka honey is available at 300+mg/kg, 450+mg/kg and 600+mg/kg levels.
Manuka honey is a multimillion pound industry in the UK. There are a significant number of brands on sale and much confusion around the on pack claims and numbers. Some Manuka brands proudly advertise the amount of Peroxide Activity found in the honey, when Peroxide Activity can be found in most varieties of honey from around the world.
MGO® Manuka honey is graded on the amount of Methyglyoxal found within the honey.
Methylglyoxal is the unique compound which makes Manuka unique from all other honey varieties. As a result it is very difficult to source and very expensive, when compared to cheap Peroxide based honey.
The New Zealand guidelines were published in July 2014 and it is hoped that the UK Food Standards Agency and UK Trading Standards will adopt all or part of this recent publication.