Manuka Honey: What the Grading Means

FOOD · GLOBAL

Manuka Honey: What the Grading Means

UMF and MGO explained, what the evidence shows, and whether it is worth it

Manuka honey costs many times ordinary honey, and the grading systems are the only thing that makes one jar comparable with another.

MGO and UMF

MGO states the methylglyoxal content in milligrams per kilogram, which is the compound associated with manuka's antibacterial activity. Higher numbers mean more of it.

UMF is a broader certification measuring several markers including MGO and leptosperin, which also verifies authenticity and origin. A UMF number corresponds roughly to an MGO range.

A jar with no grading, or with a vague number and no system named, is telling you very little.

Authenticity

Manuka is among the most adulterated foods in the world, since demand far exceeds what New Zealand and Australia produce. Certification and testing are the reason the grading systems exist.

What the evidence shows

Medical-grade honey has genuine evidence in wound care and is a licensed product used in clinical settings. That is different from a jar bought for eating.

For coughs, honey of any kind has reasonable evidence for soothing in adults and children over one. For general immunity, digestion and internal infections, the evidence for eating manuka is weak.

Never for babies under one

Honey can contain spores causing infant botulism. This applies to all honey including manuka, raw and organic.

Is it worth it

As a pleasant honey with a distinctive flavour, it is a legitimate luxury. As a health purchase, the price is far ahead of the evidence for eating it.

Buying without overpaying

Work out the cost per hundred grams and compare grades rather than jar prices. Higher MGO costs disproportionately more, so a mid grade is frequently the sensible purchase.

Check the country of origin, the certification mark and the packing date rather than trusting a number printed large on the front.

Using it

Eat it off a spoon or on something cool, since heating destroys the compounds people pay for. Stir it into tea only once it has cooled slightly.

A teaspoon is a portion. Manuka is sugar like any honey and is not a food to eat by the spoonful all day.

Wound care

Medical-grade honey dressings are sterilised and licensed, which shop honey is not. Never put food-grade honey on an open wound, and see a doctor about anything that is not healing.

Other honeys

Single-origin honeys from named regions cost a fraction of manuka and taste of where they came from. Heather, borage, orange blossom and chestnut are all distinctive and worth trying side by side.

Buying from small local beekeepers supports hives near you and gives a traceable product.

Crystallisation

Natural and expected. Stand the jar in warm water to liquefy it rather than microwaving it.

Storage

Sealed at room temperature. Crystallisation is normal, and heating destroys the compounds people pay for.

WHERE TO BUY

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