Medi-Bee Manuka Honey
Label claim: UMF 10+
Stockists: Amazon, Costco, Holland & Barrett
Price: £15.99 (500g - Costco)
What the tests showed:
TA:10.5
NPA:10.5
The lab says: “This was the only product tested that made label claims relating to the UMF/NPA. The results suggest that the majority, if not all, the activity measured in this product is derived from non-peroxide constituents as the NPA and TA results were the same.”
The company says: “Comvita were the first company to sell manuka honey in the UK, and we have remained at the forefront of the industry by supplying products of superior quality to our competitors,” according to Simon Pothecary, general manager at Comvita Europe, which produces the Medi-Bee range. “Every batch of our honey is tested measured and assessed by qualified technicians to make sure it measures up to the Comvita standard. Comvita believes in honest labelling: ‘what you see is what you get’.”
How the tests were conducted:
Tests were carried out by Minerva Scientific, one of Europe’s leading independent honey testing labs, on seven randomly selected manuka honeys. Minerva conducted two different tests on the samples - one for Non-Peroxide Activity (NPA) and one for Total Activity (TA). The test for NPA was a microbial inhibition plate bioassay based on the procedure developed by Professor Molan in New Zealand, for the measurement of the antibacterial qualities of manuka honey. The TA was measured using a modified version of the same plate bioassay to yield comparable results. All antibacterial activity was measured against phenol standards and expressed in % phenol equivalence. The uncertainty of measurement for the tests was estimated at +/-2% phenol equivalent - eg: a result of 10% phenol could lie anywhere from 8% to 12%. All the honeys are operating within the current laws.
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