Media Release

11 February, 2019

• The Australian Manuka Honey Association (AMHA) is proud to announce the date for public presentation of the new Mark of Authenticity. Products bearing the mark will be unveiled at the AMHA AGM on 20 February 2019.

• The Criteria for Defining Australian Manuka honey require that Methylglyoxal (MGO), Dihydroxyacetone (DHA) and Leptosperin are all present in the honey, with the testing required to be conducted by an independent analytical laboratory.

• Developed by Australia’s leading manuka scientists; producers, packers, retailers and exporters of Australian Manuka can use the Mark of Authenticity to give consumers confidence that they are buying 100% authentic Australian Manuka honey.

Joe Baini, AMHA Vice Chair & CEO of Berringa Honey states: “Surging export demand for Australian Honey has raised the question of purity and authenticity in the media. The Mark of Authenticity makes it  easy for our customers to know, at a glance, that their Manuka honey is pure, natural and 100% Australian.”

Australian Manuka honey has incredible potency and diversity, with levels of over 1800 mg/kg of MGO being reported, which realistically makes Australian Manuka the strongest natural antibacterial honey in the world.

Buying product with the AMHA Mark of Authenticity enables consumers to be confident they are buying an authentic, high quality Manuka honey, produced in Australia, tested for MGO, DHA and Leptosperin.

The AMHA appreciates the work done by the New Zealand government’s Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to develop Chemical Marker standards to define New Zealand Manuka. We have adopted a similar approach here in Australia, using chemical markers and Methylglyoxal (MGO).

While the AMHA has tested Australian Manuka honey to the NZ MPI standard and encountered identical markers, it would be unscientific to apply the NZ MPI Definition to an Australian Manuka honey.

To this end the AMHA has partnered with Quality Services International to develop NMR profiles of Australian Manuka honey. We look forward to present further updates as the science develops.

The AMHA would also like to extend significant thanks to our Scientific Advisory Panel for developing the Criteria for Defining Australian Manuka Honey and in particular to Dr Peter Brooks at the University of the Sunshine Coast for the Co-ordination of our NMR profiling work and his pioneering work on the Quantification of Leptosperin.

For further information on the Mark of Authenticity and the Criteria for Defining Australian Manuka Honey, visit www.manukaaustralia.org.au