K A S H R U T . C O M_©

The following news story is from the FoodNavigator.com and theaustralian.com.au on August 26, 2013.

"Tests carried out by the Britsh Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera), the scientific arm of Defra, the UK environment and food ministry, along with overseas studies suggest that much of the honey labelled as manuka in the UK has nothing to set it apart from ordinary honey - except the price."
"Research by the main honey producers' organisation in New Zealand - from where almost all the world's manuka honey comes - revealed that 1,700 tons of manuka are produced there each year, compared with the estimated 1,800 tons of "manuka" honey sold in the UK alone. As much as 10,000 tons are sold worldwide, suggesting widespread fraud." "More manuka is sold in the UK alone than the total actually produced. The same applies to China, America and so on." Manuka honey is produced by bees whose hives are placed near flowering wild manuka bushes that grow on New Zealand's northern Island. Manuka honey has been found to have anti-microbial properties.