The New Zealand government's mānuka definition, and what we can and can't tell you about it

What is the definition for?

Identity, not strength. It answers "is this mānuka honey?", and then "monofloral or multifloral?". It does not tell you how much MGO is in the jar, which is what a UMF™ grade or an MGO figure is for. A jar can pass the government's test and carry no grade at all.

How does it relate to UMF™?

UMFHA describe their own system as building on it: in their words, their testing "adds a quality dimension" to "the NZ Government's important mānuka ID test which identifies whether products are mānuka honey or not". So a UMF™ jar has passed both — the government's identity test and UMFHA's four-factor grading.

What is the difference between monofloral and multifloral?

Two categories the same test produces. Monofloral mānuka meets the full set of markers; multifloral mānuka meets some of them and has other floral sources in it. Both are legitimately mānuka honey and they are not the same product. Airborne and Arataki both sell multifloral mānuka at floral-honey prices alongside graded monofloral.

Does the definition apply to honey sold inside New Zealand?

We don't know, and this is exactly the sort of question where guessing would be worse than useless. The definition is enforced for export. Whether it binds a purely domestic sale is a question for MPI, and we have not been able to read their answer. We'll publish it here when we have.