What New Zealand's MPI Certification Actually Checks
Grading systems are run by producers and industry bodies. Underneath all of them sits something different: a government standard that decides whether honey may legally be called mānuka at all when it leaves New Zealand.
That standard is set by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), and it is not a marketing programme.
A scientific definition, not a claim
MPI defines mānuka honey by measurement. Every export batch is tested against four chemical markers found in mānuka nectar, plus a DNA test for mānuka pollen. The combination matters: chemistry alone could in principle be approached by other means, and pollen alone says little about concentration. Together they are difficult to fake.
A batch that passes is classified as either monofloral or multifloral mānuka. One that fails is not exported as mānuka honey, whatever the producer would prefer.
Why a DNA test is the clever part
Chemical markers describe what is in the jar. The pollen DNA test asks a different question — which plant the bees actually worked. Adding the botanical check closes the gap that a purely chemical standard would leave open.
What it does not tell you
This is where people get confused, so it is worth being precise.
MPI certification establishes that honey is genuinely mānuka. It says nothing about how much methylglyoxal is in it. A jar can be fully MPI-certified monofloral mānuka and still carry a low MGO number.
So the two things answer different questions:
- MPI certification — is this really mānuka?
- MGO grade — how concentrated is it?
A high number on honey that has not been through MPI testing is a number without a foundation. Equally, MPI certification on its own does not justify a premium grade.
The exporter ID
Certified exporters carry an MPI-issued identifier. Ours is AEX000242. It is worth knowing this exists, because it is the part that ties a shipment back to a registered, auditable operator rather than to a brand name.
Our honey is also packed in New Zealand under an RMP-registered process — a risk management programme covering how the honey is handled between hive and jar.
What to look for
Three things, in order: that the honey was exported from New Zealand under MPI certification, that the grade comes from a named laboratory, and that the specific jar traces to a batch record you can read.
Ours is tested by Hill Laboratories and labelled MGO 700+.