New Zealand Honey Producer Calls UK Manuka ‘Rip-Off’

NZ Beekeeper Offers to Test $13 Tsp UK 'Manuka Honey'
New Zealand Herald, 5/22/2009

A New Zealand manuka honey producer has offered to test a British "rip-off" of manuka honey for the active ingredient, amid reports consumers are paying £55 ($145.54) a jar for the product.

Cornwall beekeepers have imported manuka plants from New Zealand to produce their own version of medicinal manuka honey.

Kerry Paul, chief executive of honey health science company Manuka Health New Zealand, said today he was incredulous at the gullibility of British consumers.

He offered to test the Cornwall honey for levels of the active ingredient.

"If consumers are expecting that honey to have the antibacterial properties which genuine manuka honey is famous for, I'm afraid they will be disappointed," he said.

"The natural compound methylglyoxal (MGOb) is the active antibacterial ingredient in manuka honey, but it is not present at sufficient levels in all manuka honey…

Mr Paul said he had seen a photograph of a pot of the Cornwall honey on a British newspaper website and could tell it was not manuka honey from the colour.

He doubted there was much manuka honey in the pot, which he said looked like it came from "mixed sources"…