Every season, all our batches of honey are pollen tested. The test results tell us the percentage of pollens found in the honey, which helps us determine what we will call each batch ' for example whether the batch is a Native Bush or Autumn Gold variety.
We also combine the pollen testing with the all-important “taste test”, which is a honey tasting session with our nearest and dearest.
We test our Manuka honeys under New Zealand's Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) standard to ensure the honey being distributed as Manuka meets the export standard.
The MPI's Manuka standard is not yet required for the New Zealand market, however, as honey producers for local and international markets, we feel it is important we know that our product is the best it can be for all our customers.
MGO and UMF ratings are used to show the level of activity in a batch of Manuka honey.
MGO stands for Methylglyoxal. This is the rating we choose to use to show the level of activity in our honeys. UMF is a trademarked rating and can only be used by those who belong to the UMF brand (which we do not).
We are required to test each batch of honey to ensure it does not contain Tutin (a toxic compound which can be found in some honeys).