Natural Solutions East Cape Te Araroa production

How MPI keeps standards high and fights adulteration

If you bought Natural Solutions Certified UMF honeys from us before you saw the seal of the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), which is one of the agencies that certifies our honeys. MPI is the government agency charged with overseeing, managing and regulating the farming, fishing, food, animal welfare, biosecurity, and forestry sectors of New Zealand’s primary industries. As such, it is responsible to maintaining New Zealand’s reputation for the quality and integrity  of its agricultural products.

MPI and Manuka Honey

In late 2017 MPI introduced a number of regulations designed to protect apiaries and consumers worldwide regarding the authenticity and grading of New Zealand mānuka honey. These are the steps required to certify manuka honey for export:

• Tests to separate mānuka honey from other honey types and to identify it as either monofloral or multifloral mānuka honey. Monofloral honey is produced predominantly from the nectar of  mānuka trees. At this time there are chemical and DNA tests approved to assess monofloral identity. These markers were adopted after a 3-year international scientific program. If the honey label just reads “mānuka honey” without qualifications it has to meet the MPI monofloral standards.
• As with any other food industry, traceability is key. Under the new rules, producers must record the location of apiary sites, the number of hives, and the volume harvested. The amount of honey produced must match the amount harvested. Furthermore, each honey box must be numbered.
• Freight agents must receive all certifications prior to shipping mānuka honey overseas.

What MPI cannot control

Whereas the MPI has placed a tight control over the authenticity of mānuka honey, they are unable to control what happens after the honey leaves New Zealand. Adulteration and improper storage could easily negate the quality controls instituted by MPI in New Zealand. The only protection for consumers is to buy mānuka honey from a reputable company like Koru Naturals.

Sources: MPI and Manuka Honey