Manuka Honey USA Information

A USA Consumer's Guide to Products of the New Zealand Manuka Tree

manuka honey wound healing east cape manuka
Introduction Sponsored by Koru Naturals
Manuka honey is produced by bees that feed on flowers of the manuka tree (Leptospermum scoparium). Manuka honey is a traditional product from New Zealand, accounting for more than U.S.$100 M is annual exports. In this article we provide information about the health properties of manuka honey, and we suggest criteria for buying manuka honey and manuka honey New Zealand beauty products in the U.S.

MANUKA HONEY ORGANIC ACTIVE 15+

 East Cape Manuka Honey 15+ certified organic manuka honey organic manuka honey and kiwifruit
Table of Contents organic active 15+ east cape UMF 15+ organic 12+ organic 12+ with kiwifruit

 

View our collection of New Zealand honeys

Manuka honey skin care

Ultra-strength UMF 18+ manuka honey for wound healing

manuka oil and tea tree oil
History Recommendations for Buying Manuka Honey in the U.S.

Honeys have been used for centuries for their medicinal properties, particularly as anti-microbial agents. It has also been recognized that honeys from different plants vary in their antimicrobial potency.

 

bee on a manuka flowerManuka honey is a monofloral honey, meaning that it is produced essentially from nectar of a single plant species. Like single-malt whiskeys, monofloral honeys are more valuable than honey blends.

 

New Zealand honeys are regarded as one of the world’s greatest natural foods. They do not have a “shelf life” or need any special storage conditions, and they remain edible for many years. 

New Zealand Manuka Honey is becoming increasingly popular in the U.S., and thus the number of outlets supplying this product is growing. This growth, together with the lack of proper inspections, is creating concerns among groups interested in preserving the integrity of the product. We recommend the following steps prior to buying manuka honey:
  • If the supplier claims to import the honey in bulk and package in the U.S., careful attention must be paid to provenance. Can the supplier provide a certificate of authenticity, including lot number and expiration date? In general, we think that it is safer to buy honey packaged in New Zealand
  • If an active honey is not UMF-certified, it is appropriate to request a copy of the activity assay conducted. We recommend avoiding alternative activity scales.
  • Although the shelf life of honeys is long, New Zealand law demands that all foods must carry an expiration date.
  •  For wound healing products, in addition to 1-3, products should carry registration numbers from the Health Authorities of Australia or New Zealand (see next section)
Types of Honeys The Basis of Anti-microbial Activity
New Zealand honeys in general fall into two categories: liquid and creamed. Liquid honey is100% raw honey extracted from the honey comb that has been warmed to liquefy, strained through a filter and packed.  It is being used more and more in cooking as a glazing on meats and vegetables and as a natural sweetening agent instead of sugar in other cooking. It is also often used as a natural sweetener for healthy drinks. Creamed honeys are natural raw honeys with no additives or preservatives, which have been warmed to liquefy, strained through a filter and aerated (slowly beaten or whipped) to form a thick creamy smooth product with a spreadable texture. Over time, the appearance of honeys will change, as the honey naturally reverts back to its original raw form, i.e. Liquid honey will granulate (the appearance of granules form), and creamed honey will soften and liquefy.  These processes are natural and honey is still safe to eat.  To slow down the changes in the honey appearance, liquid honey should be kept at room temperature, while creamed honey should be kept cool.

Manuka honey exerts its anti-bacterial activity through two basic mechanisms: physical blockage of microbial growth and the presence of anti-microbial chemical compounds. The physical components are the osmotic effect and the acidity of honeys. The osmotic effect derives from the fact that the water content of honey is less than 20% by weight. Furthermore, honey is a super-saturated solution of sugars, primarily fructose and glucose, which interact strongly with water molecules. Therefore, not only there is little water in honeys, but also most water molecules are not available to support microbial life due to the interaction with sugars.

 

Regarding acidity, honeys have a low pH, generally below 4.0. This pH is too low to allow the growth of most bacterial species. A corollary to this information is that the physical anti-microbial properties of honeys will be rendered ineffective if dilution of the honey introduces water or raises the pH.

 
Anti-microbial activity How to Use Manuka Honey as Natural Medicine

The UMF Factor

Most honeys have antibacterial activity due to the production of hydrogen peroxide mediated by the enzyme glucose oxidase. In addition to this basic activity, it has been known for years that manuka honey has additional anti-microbial actions, although the chemical nature of the ingredient responsible for this additional activity has only been elucidated recently.

 

Research into the biological basis for the antiseptic activity of manuka honey has been led by Dr Peter Molan, a Professor at the Honey Research Unit at The University of Waikato. He discovered that the honey from some strains of the New Zealand manuka bush (Leptospermum scoparium) has an antibacterial activity not present in any other honeys, and he named this activity the Unique Manuka Factor (UMF®).  The strains of bacteria used to test for this activity are commonly found in wounds and also include Helicobacter pylori, the bacterium responsible for stomach ulcers. It is important to note that not all manuka honeys have this special antibacterial activity, or have it at the same level. The antiseptic activity of manuka honeys are expressed quantitatively on an UMF scale. An UMF® of 10 is the minimum to control microbial growth. Most manukas on the market today have UMF values of 12-18. with some rare honeys achieving 20 or more.

UMF® is the registered name and trademark of the Active Manuka Honey Association (AMHA), which issues licenses to New Zealand producers. However, small producers may not be able to afford the licensing fees charged by the AMHA, thus producing active honeys that cannot use the UMF trademark.
 

 Given the need to restrict the dilution of the honey in order to retain biological activity, the most effective use of honey is as topical application for wound healing. There is extensive evidence that active manuka honey is effective in promoting the healing of wounds, burns and skin ulcers, helping reduce inflammation, swelling and pain. This wound-healing activity of manuka honey is probably due entirely to its anti-microbial activity.  Proper healing of a wound without leaving scars requires a moist environment, which is a challenge because moisture promotes microbial growth. Application of dehydrating agents such as alcohols can be effective at killing bacteria, but alcohols also delay healing and promote scarring of the skin. Active manuka honey will prevent microbial growth while retaining the moisture necessary for proper healing.

After the end of World War II antibiotics have been used recklessly in America. This has resulted in the widespread emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, in particular the resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) that plague U.S. hospitals. S. aureus is highly sensitive to active manuka honey, highlighting the value of this honey as natural remedy.

Activity scale

0

 no detectable activity

5

 table grade - gourmet use but no therapeutic activity

10

 maintenance level - for increased vitality and immunity

15

 high antibacterial activity

20

 superior level - high therapeutic use
Anti-microbial Compounds Is it really Active Manuka Honey?
As mentioned above, hydrogen peroxide is the anti-microbial compound found in all honeys. In addition to hydroxen peroxide, some manuka honeys contain high levels of methylglyoxal, a compound identified by Dr. Thomas Henle’s group as a possible candidate for the properties of active manuka honey (see Mavric, E. et al. Mol. Nutr. Food Res. 2008, 52).   Some of the New Zealand manuka honeys tested by Henle’s group contained more than 100-fold higher methylglyoxal concentrations than regular honeys. Dr Henle proposed determining  methylglyoxal as an alternative approach to determining the anti-microbial potency of manuka honeys. Manuka Health, a New Zealand producer, filed a trademark application on MGO, the abbreviation for methylglyoxal, and sells MGOTM honey around the world. However, Dr. Henle's publication failed to address the issue of bioavailability. An active substance in a complex natural product such as honey may be bound to other components in such a way that it is not available to exert its anti-microbial function, and these interactions may be disrupted by the dilutions made to test the honeys. Research conducted at the Chemistry Department of the University of Waikato, New Zealand, by Dr. Chris Adams showed a limited correlation between levels of methylglyoxal and anti-microbial activity in samples of manuka honeys. One possible interpretation for these results is that methylglyoxal may not be fully bioavailable in manuka honey. Furthermore, although the work published establishes MGO as a clear candidate for anti-microbial compound, it does not rule out the existence of other bioactive anti-microbial compounds formed concomitantly with MGO.. If this is the case, it would not be correct to use the levels of this compound as indicator of activity (see more about this topic in the Is it Really Manuka Honey? section below). Therefore, we view the use of MGO concentrations as measure of activity as at least premature, and we support the use of anti-microbial assays as the gold standard in the field. The reader is referred to the excellent web site of the Waikato University Honey Research Unit for additional information on these topics. There are significant concerns about preserving the integrity of the active manuka honeys sold worldwide. The price differential between regular honey and active manuka is such that it provides a powerful incentive to dilute or otherwise adulterate the product. The lack of regulatory supervision in the U.S. manuka bushmeans that the consumer must be extra cautious when buying manuka honey. This is part of a larger problem with imported honeys in the U.S., where Chinese honey has been known to be laundered through third countries to avoid U.S. import fees and tariffs. Chinese hives suffer from a contagious bacterial epidemic that has infected bee larvae in hundreds of thousands of bee hives, resulting in the honey production to be cut by two thirds. While Chinese bee keepers should have destroyed the infected hives, they instead applied a dangerous, extremely toxic banned antibiotic.  The U.S. Food & Drug Administration has placed tainted honey high on its watch list.
Manuka honey in Skin Care Products Activity Scales
Manuka honey is widely used in skin care products from New Zealand. The addition of this honey provides exceptional smoothness to creams and lotions, and helps the skin retain moisture, an essential function of moisturizing products. However, the concentration of manuka honey in skin care products (generally less than 3%) is likely to be too low to confer significant antimicrobial activity.

 

Even when the provenance of a manuka honey sold in the U.S. is legitimate New Zealand, questions exist regarding how the biological activity was determined. For example, in 2008 New Zealand's Active Manuka Honey Association was forced to terminate the membership of the Manuka Health Company because of alleged adulteration of the activity grade of their manuka honey, and New Zealand's Advertising Standards Authority upheld a complaint of false claims against this company. Manuka Health now sells Manuka Honey MGOTM in the U.S.. Although this brand is not authorized to use the UMF trademark, unscrupulous merchants in the U.S. sell this product as a UMF honey or use activity rankings such as 20+ that suggest that anti-microbial tests have been conducted, which is not the case.

Some of the manuka honey sold in the U.S. is imported in bulk and packaged in the U.S. Whereas there are obvious economic advantages to this approach, the consumer may lack critical information about the origin and activity of the honey. Ideally, regulations should exist demanding disclosure of the name of the New Zealand apiary where the honey was produced and the results of the activity assays conducted, and sellers should make available records showing that the amounts of honey imported matches the amounts sold retail. In the absence of such regulations, the best protection for the consumer is to buy manuka honey packaged in New Zealand, and bearing regulatory labels with lot number, date produced, and expiration date (see box below).
Treatment of Ulcers
Honey has traditionally been used as treatment for ulcers although, to our knowledge, the evidence for efficacy in this application is not as developed as the evidence for wound healing. Helicobacter pylori, the bacterium responsible for the development of stomach ulcers, is highly sensitive to the anti-microbial activity of manuka honey, providing a possible rationale for this activity.

 
Conclusions
In summary, active New Zealand manuka honey is a safe and effective approach to natural wound healing and heartburn, in addition to being an excellent gourmet honey. It is our view that antibiotics should be reserved for serious infections, whereas most minor wounds and burns can be managed the natural way with active manuka honey.