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Company Information
Origin
This Mānuka honey is produced by bees from some of The True Honey Co.'s 6000 hives located in remote locations across the North and South Islands of New Zealand.
New Zealand Mānuka honey is produced by bees collecting nectar from the Mānuka plant (Leptospermum scoparium). Mānuka plants can be found growing throughout New Zealand.
The True Honey Co. is certified and licensed by NZ Fernmark (License number: NZFM100086) which verifies New Zealand as its country of origin. The Fernmark license is a formal government recognition of The True Honey Co.'s connection to New Zealand.
Supply Chain
There are systems in place throughout The True Honey Co.’s supply chain to ensure that each jar of honey meets high standards of safety and quality.
The Apiary
Apiary Assurances
- The Apiaries where the hives are located are registered with New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industries, and comply with their annual hive inspection and reporting requirements
- The True Honey Co. beehives meet New Zealand requirements to construct beehives with materials that are not a source of hazard to the honey
- All the honey comes from hives managed by The True Honey Co., which are remotely monitored and traced under their TrueView software system
The Factory
The Mānuka honey hive boxes are transported from the Apiary to the Extraction factory, accompanied by signed Harvest Declarations that detail the apiary locations the boxes have come from.
Factory Assurances - Extraction
- Honey is extracted from the hive frames contained within the hive boxes and stored in secure food grade drums
- Samples of honey are taken during the extraction process and tested by an accredited laboratory for authenticity, safety, quality and MGO level
- The extraction facility is audited biannually by NZ Government-owned AsureQuality to ensure Risk Management Plan (RMP) requirements are met
Factory Assurances - Bottling
- The honey drums are transported to the bottling factory
- The Mānuka honey is packed into glass jars and placed into tamper proof boxes
- The final product is tested again at an independent accredited laboratory for authenticity, safety, quality and MGO level
- Each jar of honey is labelled with a batch number for traceability purposes, and stored in a facility that operates to an audited Risk Management Plan to ensure quality is maintained
- The bottling facility is audited biannually by NZ Government-owned AsureQuality to ensure Risk Management Plan (RMP) requirements are met
Transport
The product is delivered from the factory to the appropriate distribution route via a registered transport company.
Transport Assurances
The transport company that delivers the honey is required to have a current New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries Risk Management Programme before it can carry any True Honey Co.'s products, as per New Zealand’s Animal Products Act, 1999. This transport company is audited regularly by authorised personnel to ensure that the required standards are being met and maintained.
Shipping
This Mānuka honey product has several possible distribution routes.
Airfreight
- For product sold outside of New Zealand, through some online routes the honey jars are sent to the destination country via airfreight.
- The honey order is processed and tracked via barcoding and traceability systems until final courier delivery to the consumer.
Seafreight
- For product sold outside New Zealand, through retail stores and some online routes the honey jars are sent to the destination country via seafreight.
- The shipping company ensure that the products are accompanied by all export accompanied documents (EAD) that are required by the importing country.
- Once cleared by customs, the product is sent to the distribution warehouse being allocated to various retail locations.
Retail
Product is loaded onto delivery trucks and distributed to individual shops, and other customers. Retailers ensure that the product is fresh by using good stock rotation, and checking best before dates before selling product to consumers,
This honey carries the AQ Assured brand and QR code on label for consumers to scan for more information on the safety and quality measures undertaken throughout the product supply chain.
Environmental
Taking their responsibility as guardians of the bees seriously, The True Honey Co. have a higher ratio of beekeepers-to-hives than the current industry standard.
As part of their commitment to care for the environment, The True Honey Co. use helicopters to fly the hives into their environment to avoid disruption to the bees and their native bush home.
Their honey is stored in glass jars which are then packed in award winning, drop-proof and sustainable packaging, to ensure the products are delivered in the best possible condition. This clever packaging is constructed from strong Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) certified cardboard, and has won a total of five awards.
Social & Ethical
Transparency for their landowner partners is important, and The True Honey Co. uses TRUEVIEW technology to deliver this. The TRUEVIEW system holds all the information relating to each land block, including hive and honey yield data. This technology monitors hive weight and temperatures and includes honey test results, allowing their landowner partners to view real time data about the honey being collected within the hives on their property.
The True Honey Co. are committed to giving back to the community via sponsorship.
The True Honey Co. support The Garden to Table Trust which works with primary school aged children in New Zealand to help them discover a love for fresh food and lifetime skills.
The True Honey Co. believes conservation begins with education, and through this programme are helping to educate the next generation about the importance of bees. They hope to raise $10,000 or more this year for this charitable trust.
Safety & Quality
Laboratory Testing
During the extraction process, samples of honey are sent to an accredited laboratory to be tested, then the final product is tested again for authenticity, safety, quality, methylglyoxal (MGO) and Unique Manuka Factor (UMF™).
Mānuka Qualities
MGO is methylglyoxal, a naturally occurring compound within Mānuka honey. Sometimes referred to as MG, this is one of the compounds tested to determine the quality and purity of Mānuka honey. The higher the MGO rating the more methyglyoxal present in the honey.
The True Honey Co. is a member of the UMF™ Honey Association (License number 2900). UMF™ is a grading system undertaken by the more than 100 New Zealand honey producers that form the UMF™ Honey Association. This grading system requires laboratory testing for three grading attributes in order to determine the UMF™ rating.
The True Honey Co. meets the Ministry for Primary Industries requirements for all honey labelled as Mānuka for export be tested by a recognised laboratory, ensuring that it meets the scientific definition of Mānuka honey. The Mānuka honey definition is made up of a combination of 5 attributes (4 chemicals from nectar and 1 DNA marker from Mānuka pollen).
Auditing
All The True Honey Co.'s extraction, bottling, transport and storage facilities are audited to verify the requirements of the Risk Management Programme ( RMP ).
Nutrition
This product is 100% NZ Mānuka honey
This batch of honey has been independently tested to contain at least 300mg/kg of methylglyoxal (MGO)
This batch of honey has been independently tested to contain at least UMF™ 11+
