New Zealand Manuka Honey Company Wants Court Ruling on Trademarks

NZ Honey fights MPI over alleged health claims

Monday, 28 September 2015
The New Zealand Herald

MPI has been cracking down on the manuka honey industry amid international criticism there was more manuka honey coming out of the country than New Zealand actually produces.
By Suze Metherell

New Zealand Honey International, the closely-held honey products maker, wants a judicial declaration on whether its trademarks Manuka Doctor and Manuka Pharm amount to health claims after the Ministry of Primary Industries withdrew export approvals, blocking the firm's sales into certain markets.

MPI has been cracking down on the manuka honey industry amid international criticism there was more manuka honey coming out of the country than New Zealand actually produces.

With no industry consensus on what constitutes manuka honey, MPI introduced an interim labelling guideline in July 2014 to give the industry clarity and protect consumers from false claims, as well as to try to improve credibility of the manuka products.

The regulator cancelled NZ Honey's export assurance in May, saying the company's brand names Manuka Doctor and Manuka Pharm breached food labelling standards.