MĀNUKA-HONEY, THE (ONLY) MĀNUKA HONEY QUALITY MARK. UMF® MĀNUKA-HONEY.

TA, NPA, UMF, MGO ...
Confused by the many indications of Mānuka-Honey ?

Click this link for the list of Mānuka-Honey  producers with an official (= real) UMF® Mānuka-Honey  license (ApiHealth NZ Ltd #1052, Melita Ltd #2050, Kāre Ltd #2202, Manukora & Kaimai Gold #2228)

The meaning of the different indications ...

TA
TA on the label of Mānuka-Honey  relates to the Total Activity.
The Total Activity of Mānuka-Honey  is calculated on the basis of both the peroxide- and the non-peroxide activity of the Mānuka-Honey.
In this method the activity of the Mānuka-Honey  normally is indicated with the letters TA. For example, TA10+. Also indication without letters, in this example 10+, is not unusual.

NPA
At the indication NPA (Non-Peroxide Activity), only the Non-Peroxide Activity of the Mānuka-Honey  is calculated to indicate how powerful the enzymes in the Mānuka-Honey  are to combat bacterial infections and inflammations.

What is the difference between the TA method & the NPA system?
Because the peroxide activity of the Mānuka-Honey  is excluded in the NPA system, Mānuka-Honey  which is indicated with the NPA system always has a stronger healing anti-bacterial effect than Mānuka-Honey  which is indicated with the TA method. Because there is no supervision on the use of TA and NPA values on labels, the indications TA and NPA are no warranty for quality.

UMF®

The abbreviation UMF  (Unique-Mānuka-Factor) was introduced as thé standard to indicate the strength of the antibacterial action of the NPA (Non-Peroxide Activity) component in Mānuka-Honey. After all, not all Mānuka-Honey  has the same non-peroxide antibacterial action. The NPA component in Mānuka-Honey  determines the unique properties of Mānuka-Honey. A higher value of this component in the Mānuka-Honey  results in more powerful anti-bacterial properties of the Mānuka-Honey. For example, a NPA value of 15+ is in this system indicated with UMF® 15+, a NPA value of 20+ with UMF® 20+, and so on... The UMF® Mānuka-Honey  logo may only be applied to products that meet the strict quality requirements of the UMF® Mānuka-Honey-Association. An independent party is responsible for monitoring it. Mānuka-Honey  with UMF® MĀNUKA-HONEY  LOGO is Mānuka-Honey  with the ONLY OFFICIALLY RECOGNIZED Mānuka-Honey  QUALITY SEAL.

MGO™ & MGO®

Because the UMF  system can give minor deviating results under the same circumstances, the wish arose for a more accurate method. When by chance the accurately measurable anti-bacterial component Methylglyoxal (MGO ) was discovered in Mānuka-Honey, the component that is (as a result of synergy with non anti-bacterial components which are present in Mānuka-Honey ) co-responsible for the overall anti-bacterial action of Mānuka-Honey, arose next to the UMF  system the on Methylglyoxal based MGO  method. With this method the non-peroxide anti-bacterial activity (NPA) of Mānuka-Honey  can be determined more accurate. As is the case with the TA method and the NPA system there is also no supervision on this method. Consequently also the MGO™ and MGO® logos are no warranty for quality or quality mark.

Weblink to the: METHYLGLYOXAL / NPA HONEY  CONVERSION CALCULATOR

Click this link for the official (= real) conversion chart UMF® from/to MGO

In the table below you will find the comparison of MGO  and NPA activity.

NPA / UMF                   MGO                                    Recommended use

        6+                             100+                        Helps to maintain good health

       10+                            250+                        Good anti-bacterial properties

       13+                            400+                        Strong anti-bacterial properties

 15+ / 16+               500+ / 550+                  Excellent anti-bacterial properties

       20+                            800+                        Superior anti-bacterial properties

More information on Mānuka-Honey  on our page MĀNUKA-HONEY, LEARN MORE ABOUT MĀNUKA HONEY