Testing Manuka Honey

At Nelson Honey, we test all our Manuka Honey to ensure that it is authentic and meets our quality standards and the New Zealand Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) regulations.  In addition, we use 10 different independent tests to help us determine it is genuine, quality manuka honey and to tell us its activity and origin.

How to Choose a Manuka Honey

When choosing your Manuka Honey you should consider two things:

  1. That it is tested according to New Zealand MPI regulations to ensure it is authentic manuka honey from a reputable supplier.
  2. Decide on what level of rating best suits your needs.

MGO vs NPA Conversion

NPA Rating MGO Level (mg/kg)
5+ 100+
10+ 250+
15+ 500+
20+ 800+
25+ 1200+

What does MGO mean?   

MGO or methylglyoxal is the natural compound that is responsible for the special unique activity that is found in Manuka Honey.  

Good manuka honey suppliers and beekeepers measure this to assess the level of activity.  

However, the activity can be reflected in different ways which can make it confusing.

Therefore, here at Nelson Honey, we keep it simple and only refer to the MGO activity (Methylglyoxal). That is to say, all rating systems include the level of Methylglyoxal as part of the measurement process. MGO Activity will be indicated on our products as a number.

Is MGO important?  

Manuka Honey is well renowned for its special activity which sets it apart from other honey.  In the meanwhile, MGO (Methylglyoxal) is a key measure of this special activity. It is this activity that has been heavily researched and found to have special benefits.  Many consumers certainly use it to support everyday good health and wellbeing needs.

To sum up, choosing a good quality, authentic honey that has been independently tested as Manuka Honey, is as important as the activity level. If you are eating or using your Manuka Honey in health drinks or adding it to food, we recommend all our MGO rated manuka honey products for your everyday wellbeing needs.

For further information, we suggest consumers carry out their own independent study into the research around Manuka Honey.  There are a number of very good university directed research documents and published scientific articles supporting the benefits of Manuka Honey.

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