Buy Active Manuka honey ~ The Best Honey Brands to Buy

The increasing popularity and public demand have led to a flood of products on the market. Many of these so called active Manuka honey's are not what they seem. Manufacturers and distributors want to gain financially by promoting their products as being active, healing, special and unique. While the cold truth is that a lot of these products are not tested for their antibacterial activities and consequently do not have the unique traits of genuine active Manuka honey.

Where to buy real active Manuka honey and how to find out if it's not a fake.

& How to buy cheap UMF Manuka honey

The products displayed on this page are all genuine UMF or MGO Manuka honeys with special health benefits. Tested in the Waikato University laboratory and guaranteed for antibacterial activity and other health benefits.

* Scroll down on this page clinical trials and other proof on the effectiveness of Manuka honey.

Dr. Molan is head of the Honey Research Unit of the Waikato University New Zealand. This pioneer in Manuka honey research has discovered the healing properties of this natural product in 1982. At that time it wasn't clear which process was exactly responsible for the special traits of this honey. That's why professor Molan called it the Unique Manuka Factor (UMF).

Later on, in 2006 Professor Henle, head of the Institute of Food Chemistry at the Technical University of Dresden, identified Methylglyoxal (MGO) being responsible for the 'spectacular antibacterial properties of Manuka honey'.

Recent publication by Dr. Molan about 'rating the activity of Manuka honey'

The existence of both the UMF and the MGO rating system has not led to more clarity for the customer. The Waikato Honey Research Unit which created the world-wide standard to test Manuka honey for its unique antibacterial activity, is about to launch a better and more reliable test, complete with its own trademark.

This new system has to end the confusion about whether products really are tested for their antibacterial activity thus offering more protection to customers. "The new University of Waikato test is expected to be ready for use in coming weeks" 24 April 2009

Read the "Rating the antibacterial activity of manuka honey" by Professor Peter Molan of the Honey Research Unit, University of Waikato.

UMF Manuka honey

Until the new rating system is unrolled there are a few criteria that are important in case you want to buy active Manuka honey.

First of all the term 'active' is no guarantee for the product being tested. In order to make sure to buy the good stuff only buy UMF 10+ Manuka honey. This means:

The product has the name UMF® clearly stated on the front label and has a rating of UMF 10 or more.



There are 4 UMF ratings to indicate the antibacterial potency of Manuka honey:

• UMF0 to UMF4: not detectable
• UMF5 to UMF9: maintenance level only (not recommended for therapeutic uses)
• UMF10 to UMF15: useful therapeutic levels endorsed by the Honey Research Unit at University of Waikato
• UMF16+ : superior strength with very high antibacterial levels

MGO Manuka honey

The MGO system was developed after Dr. Henle discovered the existence of Methylgyoxal. Manuka honey with an UMF rating of 10 can be compared with MGO 100 Manuka honey.

• UMF® 10 = MGO 100
• UMF® 16 = MGO 250
• UMF® 20 = MGO 400

Although the UMF and MGO rating system both indicate the presence of antibacterial activity none of the systems is ideal.

According to Professor Molan the MGO system is not a good rating system:

"Because the level of MGO is an unreliable indication of the level of antibacterial activity and can be very misleading, I can see no advantage for it to be used to indicate antibacterial activity other than if someone wanted to fool the consumer into thinking that the higher levels of MGO are giving them a level of antibacterial activity that is far higher than they are really getting."

From the Waikato Honey Research Website: It is now known that this unique antibacterial activity is due to the combined action of methylglyoxal (MGO) and an unidentified synergistic component(s). Although very low levels of MGO are found in most honey, the high level of MGO in manuka honey is unique, as is the presence of the synergist which more than doubles the antibacterial activity of MGO.

Let's take a look at the Amazon bestseller list and we'll see Wedderspoon Raw Organic Organic Manuka Honey Active 16+ is

The best selling Manuka honey on Amazon

The amount of reviews (this product has by far the most) also seems to give an indication this is the best product. But it's not!

Bestsellers are no guarantee for quality!

Only the fifth Manuka honey on the Amazon Bestsellers List..

is Genuine Active UMF® Manuka honey

Yes the price of the genuine Manuka honey is 31% higher than the bestseller. But you'll get the real UMF Manuka honey with the great health benefits that the others do not have. So the genuine Manuka honey has a far better price quality value.

So why spend that much on normal honey?

A five star rating is no indication for the real Manuka honey either. Some products have very good ratings and reviews:

"I've recently read about the benefits of Manuka Honey. I was very pleased with this product."

But people might not be aware of the fact that what they have read about the medicinal benefits of Manuka honey does not apply to the product they have bought.

So take good care when buying Manuka honey and buy honey that's been

tested for its antibacterial activity

You can also order Manuka honey at Silverfernz in New Zealand. If you do you will pay a lot less than if you would buy it in the USA. Not only because of lower prices but also because of the New Zealand Dollars (NZD) and United States Dollars (USD) currency rate (For 7 US dollars you get roughly 10 NZ dollars)

No extra delivery costs
What's also convenient is that the delivery rates are the same! (Compared to Amazon delivery rates)

Your credit card will be charged in New Zealand Dollars. All the exchange rates on the Silverfernz website are updated every day from The Bank of New York.

Delivery takes a little longer
The Amazon standard shipping rates delivery times for U.S. deliveries are within 3 to 5 business days. The Silverfernz delivery times are 5 to 11 days. So if you are not in a hurry you can save a lot on ordering your Manuka honey products at Silverfernz.

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New Zealand 100% Pure UMF10+ Manuka Honey

Price:NZ$21.90

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New Zealand UMF20+ Manuka Honey

Price:NZ$44.30

Shop New Zealand offers 10+, 15+ and 20+ Comvita Manuka honey jars for roughly 65% of the price they are sold on Amazon! Shipping costs at Shop New Zealand are US$7.50.

.UMF15+ Manuka Honey - 250g - Comvita US$26.95
Exact the same product, also UMF 15+, 250 gram jar costs $35.65 on Amazon.
.UMF10+ Manuka Honey - 375g - Comvita

.UMF20+ Manuka Honey - 250g - Comvita US$42.55
The same jar costs $48.65 on Amazon.

Only companies that are member of the Active Manuka Honey Association New Zealand (AMHA) are allowed to use the registered UMF trademark.

These AMHA members have to meet stringent criteria in order to use this trademark. Licensed Manuka honey producers have to constantly monitor and audit the quality of their honey.

They need to send samples of the honey they produce to a specially appointed laboratory for testing the antibacterial activity. This laboratory uses testing criteria declared by the Honey Research Unit of the Waikato University, New Zealand. (The Waikato Honey Research Unit and especially professor Molan are THE authority on the research on the medical benefits of Manuka honey).



Customers can use a checklist to identify authentic UMF Manuka honey:

Genuine UMF Manuka Honey complies with all five of the following criteria:

1. It has the name UMF clearly stated on the front label.
2. It is packed into jars and labeled in New Zealand.
3. It is from a New Zealand company licensed to use the name UMF.
4. It has the UMF licensee's name on the front label.
5. It has a rating of UMF10 or more.

But this checklist is not up to date anymore. Many Manuka honey jars are distributed by for example English distributors who put their own label on it. This way the customer has no clear sight of what he buys.

An example:

I bought a 10+ UMF Manuka honey jar recently. I wanted to know up front if it really was genuine UMF Manuka honey so I used the checklist. The company, a British distributor, was not on it. So I e-mailed with general AMHA manager John Rawcliffe. He told me the brand I wanted to buy was indeed active Manuka honey.
"the product is from a Licence holder, it is distributed by another company "

Conclusion: Until the new Waikato University Testing and Rating system is rolled out it is best to only buy UMF 10+ or higher Manuka honey from established brands like Comvita, Eastcape, Spirits Bay, Haddrell's of Cambridge and Honey New Zealand.

UMF 10+ Manuka honey in jars can be used for internal purposes. For example on a sore throat, mouth or stomach ulcers or acid reflux to name a few.

For use on the skin, for example on wounds, cuts, burns, insect bites or ulcers it is strongly recommended to use medical grade Manuka honey. This is UMF Manuka honey that is sterilized by gamma irradiation. This is necessary because non treated honey might contain problematic microorganisms which make it not suitable for external therapeutic use.

Medihoney/ Comvita products manufactured by the company Derma Sciences, are the only FDA-cleared, honey-infused wound dressings and gels on the American market.

Other companies, such as Honeymark, sell Manuka honey-based wound creams, acne cream, hand soap and lotions online. Honeymark's products also contain Manuka honey, but they are less tightly regulated by the FDA and aren't necessarily consistent from batch to batch. Source: US News

Professor Peter Molan has devoted almost 30 years to investigating this honey's antibacterial qualities.

The more research Dr. Molan has done the more he realized its potential as a medicine:

" I've got quite committed to drawing this to people's attention and get them to start using it.

Dr. Molan has initiated the successful commercialization of Manuka honey products for wound care that are now registered as medical devices with the regulatory authorities in Australia, Canada, the countries of the European Union, Hong Kong, New Zealand and the USA.

A complete list of the publications by Dr. Molan on the effectiveness and the effects of Manuka honey on; infected wounds, burns, infected skin lesions, ulcers , staphylococci bacteria, plaque and gingivitis, oral wellness, mouth ulcers, wounds infected with MRSA and VRE, and the Helicobacter pylori bacteria.

The Coromandel area of New Zealand's North Island is one of the remote Manuka honey producing area's. (courtesy photo under CC rights by Steve & Jemma Copley