A Comparison between Honeymark and Wedderspoon Manuka Honey

With the lack of regulatory oversight and the uncertainty of various rating systems, consumers want to know the truth about the quality and potency of the Manuka honey they are buying and using as a natural healing agent.

When it comes to promoting good health, the price of natural products is usually not an issue. However, the variation of pricing for different brands of Manuka honey has consumers wondering what the difference is. Why are some Manuka honeys more expensive than others? Because of its incomparable healing potential and its lack of abundance, Manuka honey has become an expensive commodity over the past few years. Promulgated by celebrity doctors such as Dr. Oz and Dr. Mercola, it has become an extremely popular natural alternative to traditional forms of medicine.

At this point, the global demand for Manuka honey far exceeds the supply. When this kind of supply and demand situation occurs, not only does the cost of the commodity increase, but a black market can also develop. The National Beekeepers Association of New Zealand has recently announced that there is more Manuka honey being sold worldwide than there is being harvested. This suggests that some unscrupulous suppliers are either blending Manuka honey with less expensive honeys or mislabeling ordinary honey as Manuka honey.

Another way some suppliers of Manuka honey are increasing their profitability is by lying about the phytochemical and antibacterial potency of their honey. For example, the non-peroxide activity of Manuka honey is generally indicated on the label by a number. Scientific research suggests that Manuka honey must have a non-peroxide activity level of 10 or higher to be considered bioactive and suitable for therapeutic use. A Non-peroxide level less than 10 is considered to be inactive and does not have the potency required to yield medicinal efficacy. The higher the non-peroxide activity, the higher the antibacterial potency and also the higher the price.

Recent laboratory analyses show that Wedderspoon Manuka honey has a lower potency level than is advertised on the label. An independent lab report performed on a jar of Wedderspoon Manuka Honey labeled as Active 12+ revealed that it had a non-peroxide activity of less than 4.1 and a jar of Wedderspoon Manuka honey labeled as Active 16+ was really 4.6. Not only do these reports show that the potency level of Wedderspoon’s Manuka honey did not match the number listed on the label, it also confirms that Wedderspoon’s Manuka honey is inactive. The same type of laboratory analysis shows Honeymark brand Manuka honey labeled as Active 10+ had a non-peroxide activity of 10.1 and another jar of Honeymark Manuka honey labeled as Active 16+ had a non-peroxide activity of 16.

Some people think that only UMF rated Manuka honey contains bioactive properties. This is untrue. Certain acronyms such as UMF, MGO, etc. are just registered trademarks owned by private companies that have a vested interest in their trademark. Unfortunately, the New Zealand government does not regulate the Manuka honey industry and neither does the U.S. FDA. The only way to ensure a particular batch of Manuka honey has a non-peroxide activity of 10 or higher is to perform a laboratory analysis to measure these phytochemical levels. “If a customer were to ask Wedderspoon to provide the lab report of their Manuka honey, they most likely would refuse,” says Frank W. Buonanotte, CEO of Honeymark International. “We would be willing to send our third-party lab reports that show the potency levels of each batch of Manuka honey that we import from New Zealand.”

Buonanotte says that customers have called his office stating that they had tried using Wedderspoon Manuka honey for certain health conditions but experienced no results. He attributes the low potency level of their product for the lack of effectiveness. Buonanotte also states that Honeymark offers a money back guarantee on all products which he feels is the best policy to ensure product efficacy. We were not able to find a money back guarantee on Wedderspoon’s website.

Wedderspoon Caught Misrepresenting the Potency of its Manuka Honey

A laboratory analysis reveals that the Canadian supplier has been selling Manuka honey with little to no antibacterial activity and passing it off as bioactive.

All types of honey have the ability to produce low levels of hydrogen peroxide, which is a natural antibacterial agent. What makes Manuka honey from New Zealand different is that, in addition to its ability to produce hydrogen peroxide, it also contains a non-peroxide activity which researchers believe has a synergistic action with the H2O2, making it superior to other honeys in terms of its antibacterial activity.

The Manuka honey industry has been representing the non-peroxide activity on the labels of each jar of Manuka honey since the University of Waikato developed the Honey Assay Method. The numbers listed on the label of a jar of Manuka honey are comparable to a solution with the same percentage of phenol. For example, Manuka Honey with a non-peroxide activity of 15+ has the antibacterial equivalence to a solution that is 15% phenol.

Because of the impressive antibacterial compounds found in Manuka honey, it has become an extremely sought after commodity. It is also a very rare honey. As a result, the price of Manuka honey has steadily increased over the past few years. The cost of a 500 gram jar of Active 16+ Manuka honey can range from $40 to $60 USD. This is why it was difficult to understand how Wedderspoon could sell their Manuka honey for such a surprisingly low price.

The only conclusion is that Wedderspoon is not selling a quality honey. The results of an analysis performed by NZLabs on two different Wedderspoon products were disclosed yesterday. The analysis included a jar labeled as Active 16+ and another jar labeled as Active 12+, both of which were found to have non-peroxide and total peroxide activity of less than 8.2 which is as low as the test goes. This suggests that the potency of the Wedderspoon Manuka Honey had to be either extremely low or nonexistent. It certainly confirms that the honeys were not of the potency that they were labeled as having.

“This is not only unethical and dishonest, it’s an absolute disgrace,” says Frank Buonanotte, CEO of Honeymark International which is a U.S. importer of Manuka honey. “This type of inactive Manuka honey will not yield the same medicinal results that people have come to expect.” Buonanotte is concerned that if consumers use Wedderspoon Manuka honey, thinking that it is a high active when it is really a low active or inactive, it will make them lose faith in the potential healing benefits of this amazing natural resource.

Wedderspoon has been able to get away with this deceptive and fraudulent practice because the FDA doesn’t recognize honey of any kind as being an antibacterial agent. Therefore, they do not have a role in regulating the potency level of Manuka honey. Nevertheless, consumers have come to recognize the numbers indicated on the label as the potency level. Wedderspoon has twisted the general public’s understanding of Manuka honey’s antibacterial activity by misleading their customers into thinking that they were getting more than what they paid for.

It is uncertain how this news will affect Wedderspoon’s reputation or sales. This matter has been reported to the Office of the Inspector General, USDA, FDA, FTC and Health Canada. Consumers are warned not be fooled by the misrepresentation of Wedderspoon’s Manuka honey. If you are interested in purchasing quality Manuka honey that has a true bioactive potency, go with the many other reputable suppliers who accurately display the non-peroxide activity on the front label of each jar.