Is My Mānuka Honey Real? How to Check

How to check a jar of mānuka honey is what it says it is

Turn the jar around. A genuine UMF™ jar carries a licence holder number and a batch number, and UMFHA publishes every licensee on its own site so you can match them. An MGO number alone is a different, narrower claim. Anything without a named New Zealand producer on it is not checkable at all.

Last checked 16 September 2026 against UMF Honey Association

Updated 16 September 2026 · About 5 minutes to read · Written by NZ Mānuka Honey

What is actually printed on a genuine UMF™ jar?

A UMF™ grade, a licence holder number and a batch number. UMFHA says those batch and licence numbers trace the jar back to its original quality certificate. If a jar shows the UMF™ mark and a grade but no licence number, that is the thing to ask the seller about before you ask anything else.

Four checks, in order

Find the licence holder number
It is usually small, near the grade or the batch code. Write it down.
Match it on umf.org.nz
UMFHA publishes its certified brands, each with a licence number and the legal entity holding it. Comvita is #1019, Arataki #1003, Manuka Doctor #1026, Egmont Honey #1888, Onuku #2252. If the jar's number isn't on their list, the UMF™ mark on it isn't backed by a licence.
Read what kind of number the big one is
A grade and an MGO figure are different claims. UMFHA's answer to converting one into the other is flat: "MGO /NPA does not convert to UMF™."
Read the floral type
Monofloral and multifloral mānuka are both real categories under the New Zealand government's test, and a multifloral jar is not a monofloral one at a discount. The label should say which it is.

What does the government's test have to do with it?

The Ministry for Primary Industries runs the test that decides whether honey can be sold as mānuka at all. UMFHA describes its own grading as building on that government test rather than replacing it. We link you to MPI's page rather than quoting its thresholds, because MPI's site blocks the requests we can make and we won't repeat numbers we couldn't open ourselves.

What about honey bought overseas or online?

The same checks work, with one extra: a licensed brand's own shop is the shortest route to a jar you can trace. UMFHA's certified-brands list links each licensee's own site, and most of the New Zealand ones sell direct.

Frequently asked questions

Does a UMF™ mark alone prove a jar is genuine?

It's the start. The mark plus a licence number you can match on UMFHA's own list, plus a batch number, is what makes it checkable.

Is MGO-only honey fake?

No. It's a narrower claim: one compound has been measured. It is not a UMF™ grade and it does not convert into one, which UMFHA states plainly.

Is multifloral mānuka real mānuka?

Yes — multifloral is one of the two categories the New Zealand government's test produces. It is not the same as monofloral, and the label should tell you which you're buying.

Can you test my jar?

No. We don't test honey and we never will — we're a shop, not a laboratory. Everything we publish about a grade comes from the producer's own label and UMFHA's own table.