Revealed: which manuka honey is really good for you
And which, like the one from Harrods, fail a new scientific test of their health benefits
WHEN Hollywood celebrities reveal their secrets to staying healthy and glowing, more often than not they will mention manuka honey.
Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson and Katherine Jenkins have all extolled the virtues of this ‘liquid gold’, which costs up to £100 a jar.
Studies have found that manuka has antibacterial properties and can help with skin repair, coughs and colds, and even fight the bacteria that cause stomach ulcers.
But what is manuka honey, exactly? No one seems able to agree — least of all the competing producers.
However, there are a few basic facts everyone is happy with. Manuka honey is made by bees from the nectar of the manuka bush, which mainly grows in New Zealand. It tastes like honey, but contains a health-boosting, anti-bacterial compound called methyl-glyoxal (MGO). While everyday honey contains anti-bacterial qualities, too, these disappear as it’s digested.
What many health-conscious buyers don’t realise is that there is no legal definition of manuka honey. After all, it’s a relatively new craze and it’s hard to pinpoint exactly which chemicals — and in what concentration — give manuka its healing properties.
So far there are only guidelines for ‘manuka-type honey’, which state that it must at least contain some MGO — even if it’s a tiny amount. This lack of clarity means manuka could be diluted with cheaper honey and still be a legal product that meets the guidelines.
A new test has been developed by the Unique Manuka Factor Honey Association (UMFHA), which claims to represent 85 per cent of producers in New Zealand, and experts say it could be the key to finally working out if your manuka is worth the money.
UMFHA worked with the respected Fera Science lab in York to create the test, which checks levels of MGO and looks for a second compound found only in manuka: leptosperin.
Levels of the chemicals vary according to whether nectar is collected from only manuka bushes or from a variety of plants, or whether manuka is mixed with other honeys.
To pass the new test, honey must contain 100mg/kg of lepto-sperin. Fera Science says this means it’s undiluted and from manuka bushes.
AND it must contain at least 83mg/kg of MGO, which is said to be the minimum for health benefits.
It may come as a shock to hear that half the jars analysed by the Daily Mail had no germ-fighting properties at all.
And spending a small fortune was no guarantee of authenticity — even a sample from a £60 set sold at Harrods failed the test.
As a result of our findings, the store said it was removing the honey from its shelves pending an independent investigation.
UMFHA has also introduced a voluntary UMF Kitemark, which takes into account MGO and leptosperin, and rates the honey’s potency on a scale from five to 26. ‘This means that when the consumer buys manuka honey, they can be confident that is what they’re getting,’ says UMFHA’s John Rawcliffe.
Nutritionist Pixie Turner adds: ‘Only manuka with high concentrations of MGO will be strong enough to help with a sore throat. It’s expensive, so it’s worth making sure you’re getting the benefits it claims to offer.’ Here are the results of our test:
ALEXANDRE STERN ROYAL MANUKA
Harrods, part of boxed set of 12 for £60 (360g)
WHAT THE TEST FOUND: It may be sold in Harrods, but this fell well short of UMFHA’s standards.
It had just a bit more than half the minimum amount of lepto-sperin required, and levels of bacteria-fighting MGO were so small as to be undetectable.
Dr Adrian Charlton, the biochemist who conducted the test, says: ‘We would say it’s not manuka, which is surprising for such an expensive honey.’ WOULD IT QUALIFY FOR A UMF KITEMARK? No.
THE COMPANY SAYS: Harrods immediately removed the manuka honey from its shelves.
It says: ‘We pride ourselves in providing our customers with the finest products. Therefore, we have withdrawn Alexandre Stern Royal Manuka from sale and sent samples off for immediate independent analysis.’
Alexandre Stern says his honey is to be enjoyed for its taste, not its health benefits.
‘You can see our label does not state that our honey is active. Our business is to find the world’s best honeys in terms of taste and we are recognised as one of the leading brands.’
HARVEY NICHOLS OWN BRAND
Harvey Nichols, £14.95 (250g)
WHAT THE TEST FOUND: The exclusive Knightsbridge store sells its manuka in a chic glass bottle with a label saying simply: ‘Pure honey.’
While its leptosperin levels are a respectable 205mg/kg, it scored only 77.9mg/kg for MGO, just below the minimum that Fera Science says provides health-boosting benefits.
Dr Charlton says the test shows it may have suffered heat damage during storage, which could have affected the reading. WOULD IT QUALIFY FOR A UMF KITEMARK? No. THE COMPANY SAYS: Harvey Nichols declined to comment.
SAINSBURY’S OWN BRAND
Sainsbury’s, £15.80 (340g)
WHAT THE TEST FOUND: Though cheap compared to some of the others, the Sainsbury’s manuka still costs seven times more than its ordinary honey.
So, is it worth it? According to Dr Charlton, it recorded the highest leptosperin levels of any sample at 645.8mg/kg, as well as MGO levels of 291mg/kg, more than three-and-a-half times the minimum required by the Fera Science test. WOULD IT QUALIFY FOR A UMF KITEMARK? Yes.
STEENS 15+ UMF MANUKA HONEY
Sainsbury’s, £23 (340g)
WHAT THE TEST FOUND: This squeezy bottle is covered with assurances that it’s the real thing. According to Dr Charlton, it had leptosperin levels of 176mg/kg, which means it is, indeed, from manuka bushes.
Levels of germ-fighting MGO were 118.5mg/kg — more than the minimum level required by the Fera Science test. But it’s still at the lower end of the scale, possibly because the bees that made it also gathered nectar from other plants. WOULD IT QUALIFY FOR A UMF KITEMARK? Yes.
MANUKA PHARM 20+ TA
Holland & Barrett, £24.99 (250g) WHAT THE TEST FOUND: Considering the hefty price tag and medical-sounding name, you might expect good results.
However, while leptosperin levels were quite high at 287.3mg/ kg, the check for MGO found that, at 80.6mg/kg, it was just below the minimum. WOULD IT QUALIFY FOR A UMF KITEMARK? No.
THE COMPANY SAYS: Holland & Barrett says: ‘We are confident that the manuka products we retail are genuine and comply with the descriptions on the labels.’ Manuka Pharm adds: ‘Manuka Pharm and, indeed, this pot of honey, which has been tested, meets all the New Zealand and UK current laws and regulations.’
TIPTREE MANUKA HONEY ACTIVE 10+
Waitrose and Morrisons, £13.99 at Waitrose (340g)
WHAT THE TEST FOUND: This honey comes decorated with a royal crest. If the Queen is having a dollop on her toast, she will be reaping the health benefits.
The tests found this is good quality manuka, with relatively high leptosperin levels at 306mg/ kg, and high levels of bacteria-fighting MGO at 342mg/kg.
It scored the second best result of the samples we tested. WOULD IT QUALIFY FOR A UMF KITEMARK? Yes.
MARKS & SPENCER OWN LABEL
Marks & Spencer, £14.75 (340g)
WHAT THE TEST FOUND: M&S has come up trumps. A score of 347.9mg/kg of MGO was the highest in our investigation.
Leptosperin levels were the second highest, at 446mg/kg, showing it had been gathered by bees feasting exclusively on manuka nectar. WOULD IT QUALIFY FOR A UMF KITEMARK? Yes.
NELSON HONEY 30+MG/KG MGO
Amazon, £8.19 (250g)
WHAT THE TEST FOUND: At 21p per teaspoon, this is the cheapest tested. We found the honey had 39.2mg/kg of MGO. According to Fera Science’s test, this is just less than half the amount needed to give health benefits. The leptosperin levels, 83.8mg/kg, fell below the test requirement. WOULD IT QUALIFY FOR A UMF KITEMARK? No.
THE COMPANY SAYS: Nelson Honey says pollen tests showed its honey is 67 per cent pure manuka, with a blend of other honeys. Philip Cropp, of Nelson Honey, adds: ‘We pride ourselves in producing very natural, highest-quality honey products that are true to label.’
He says the firm’s products meet all export requirements, adhere to current national labelling standards and are certified by the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries.