Don’t buy manuka honey from Woolworths , Coles or Aldi they are misleading their consumers when they are selling Manuka honey.
Buy Australia’s best manuka honey direct from Peter and Aspen here.
The Manuka label is being forcibly prostituted around by large packers which has hurt authentic hard working Australian beekeepers.
Most of the time these packers blend tiny amounts of Manuka with inferior honey so they can call it Manuka. Some of NZ Manuka products were recently found to contain Glyphosate and Neonicotinoids. Mitchell said some traces of neonics were present in all four samples collected from New Zealand.
"I think that even Kiwis will be surprised to know that three of the four samples were Manuka honey and all were contaminated," he said.
"The explanation of course is likely that most Manuka honey is mixed with clover or other 'cheaper' honey which is likely where the pesticides come from."
I asked an Australian expert why some supermarket Manuka products so cheap?
"It is cheap because of the low MGO level of 30. The company is deliberately (I assume) trying to play off the UMF rating system of New Zealand and the NPA rating from Australia which uses the 5+, 10+ etc. Very confusing and there doesn't seem to be any strict labelling laws. An MGO level of 30 is mostly every other nectar source with a bit of active Leptospermum, or very low testing Leptospermum. Medicinal grade starts at about 400 MGO."
Australians are used to MGO activity ratings and in New Zealand they have a UMF rating unique Manuka factor. A UMF of 20+ is very high and a MGO of 20+ is very low. In this case the M20+ is very low.
An Australian beekeeper explains the money grab
"if you have honey that tastes crap and candys quick double the price and call it Manuka."
In the clip below Jeffery Gibbs explains why Manuka is also called Jelly Bush honey in Australia and what to look for
https://instagram.com/p/BTzovCIlgnT/
This solution is simple don't buy Manuka honey from big packers that artificially blend honey. Only go with the mix the bees create. If you want to buy authentic medical grade Manuka you can buy direct from the beekeeper
For wholesale orders email Pete and Aspen on