Mānuka Honey – what’s the difference between UMF & MGO?

Mānuka Honey is known the world over for its health giving properties. It is honey from bees that utilise the nectar from a relatively rare native New Zealand plant and is therefore a valuable commodity. It has consequently become the target of some rather interesting marketing and some rather unusual business practices producing ‘mānuka’ honey for the marketplace.

The more pure the honey, the more of the unique active ingredients it contains. UMF refers to the ‘Unique Mānuka Factor’ and is a registered trademark. Buying honey labelled with the UMF logo ensures that you are getting the genuine, unadulterated article with has been certified at the source as meeting the requirements. All UMF honey must be packaged, sealed and labelled in New Zealand to attain certification. It is a very rigorous testing process that measures not just MGO (methylglyoxal) but also the leptosperin. The key factor is that while MGO is necessary for the higher health giving properties, it is just one of the ingredients and can be added to honey after production to artificially boost the ‘value’. The other appealing aspect of the MGO is that it is a bigger number, and bigger is always better, right? Leptosperin is the ingredient that is truly unique to mānuka, and it can’t be faked.

Here at Fenlandz Health we have always been committed to bringing you the highest quality, natural products, with the most benefit. This is why we are importing Hauora Honey which belongs to this authentication programme and have gone for the premium active mānuka honey levels of UMF 15+ and 20+. For Mānuka honey to be considered ‘active mānuka honey’ must be UMF 10+ or higher. We’ve included a chart with conversions for your convenience.

(for those who have seen NPA ratings – they convert directly to UMF)

If you’d like to try Hauora Honey for yourself, it is available exclusively in the UK from us here at Fenlandz Health.