INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED

AQ Assured by AsureQuality, New Zealand's Government-owned food assurance company.


Mana Kai Honey - Native Flora
5kg

PRODUCT ATTRIBUTES VERIFIED BY AQ ASSURED

  • New Zealand made
 

Mana Kai is a Māori company that produces honey from the hives they manage within remote locations across the North Island of Aotearoa (New Zealand).

Nz Map North Island

All Mana Kai honey is certified and licensed by NZ Fernmark (License number: NZFM100135) which verifies New Zealand as its country of origin. The Fernmark license is a formal government recognition of Mana Kai’s connection to New Zealand.

Mana Kai do not use treated timber within their beehive construction, avoiding chemical exposure for their bees, bee products and the environment.

Mana Kai honey products are obligated to be produced in compliance with New Zealand’s Resource Management Act (2009), and local council Resource Management Plans, which set rules and regulations around management of the New Zealand Environment. The regulation and compliance monitoring of environmental concerns is under the NZ Government-owned Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

These rules include:

  • Disposing of waste in ways that prevent pollution
  • Controlling manufacturing emissions to ensure air quality is maintained
  • Using only approved chemicals in a way that will not harm the environment
  • Operating within a safe distance of waterways to avoid erosion and product water quality

Mana Kai (Reserve) 20

Balanced Approach 

Mana Kai aims to invest equal energy into their bees, their land and their people. This approach is founded on a belief in ensuring that all aspects work symbiotically to produce a beneficial outcome for all. As a vertically integrated company, Mana Kai work on the land as beekeepers, process the honey in their factory, and export bee products to the world.

Mana Kai are committed to supporting and developing their community by:

  • Undertaking honey bee education within local schools from five years of age through to teenagers
  • Employing local people within the bee industry
  • Supporting local enterprises through sponsorship initiatives

Mana Kai

The Mana of Bees  

Mana Kai see bees to have achieved strong mana through their environmental contribution and genetic behaviour. For Māori, to say that something has mana means that it is regarded as having integrity and honour, and is therefore highly respected.  

The Mana Kai team share their knowledge of the ecological importance, and notable biological traits of bees with their community, and with both local and international visitors to their site in Awanui.

Mana Kai’s understanding of the ability for bees to learn and recognise objects has influenced the design of their beehives, which are fitted with hive locators. These have different colours and shapes at the entrance to each hive, helping each bee to identify which hive is their own as they fly into the apiary site. 

Mana Kai Bees 

In order to recognise the mana of bees it is important to Mana Kai to treat their colonies with care and respect. Mana Kai employ highly experienced international beekeepers and pair them with local inexperienced youth in order to provide this care, and to grow beekeeping expertise and wisdom locally. 

Laboratory Testing 

 Product quality and safety are important to Mana Kai and they take precautions to ensure their honey meets high safety and quality standards.

During the extraction process, samples of honey are sent to an accredited laboratory to be tested, then the final product is tested again for safety and quality.

Auditing

The extraction, bottling, transport and storage facilities involved in the production of Mana Kai honey are audited to verify that requirements of their Risk Management Programmes (RMP) are met and maintained.

This product is 100% NZ honey