Nutrition Facts Label and Checklist for Buying Manuka Honey

Nutrition fact labels

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has set guidelines for food manufacturers to inform consumers about the nutritional facts of their foods. The purpose is to make it easier for consumers to make better informed food choices. According to the changes announced in 2016 by the U.S. FDA, the revised guidelines seeks to have the labels reflect new scientific information, including the link between diet and chronic diseases such as obesity and heart disease.

While most of us could simply pop food into our mouths without reading the nutrition labels, however, for individuals with food allergies nutrition fact labels can prevent them from unnecessary allergy reactions and even save their lives.

In this article, we explore how the nutrition labels on manuka honey can help consumers to identify the quality of the honey.

Nutrition labels for manuka honey

Honey contains sugar and too much sugar can lead to chronic diseases such as obesity and diabetes. At the same time, many of us have heard and do believe that honey, although sweet, but it contains “natural” sugar along with a host of beneficial nutrients good for our bodies. This is true, but it also  depends on the condition of the honey. Raw honey is certainly healthier than processed honey. In processed honey, processed sugars may be added to boost the sweetness level or to alter the honey’s colour and viscosity, whereas if for pure and raw honey, it means that no additional sugars are added. This is an example of a raw manuka honey being labelled as such.

Checklist for identifying pure manuka

Here is a checklist or buyer’s guide to help you identify genuine, raw, natural, pure manuka honey:

1. Buy only from the reputable brands.
2. Look out for the words “Raw”, “Pure”, “Unadulterated”, “Unpasteurized” on the label.
3. Ensure the jar’s label is printed with “Product of New Zealand”. While majority of manuka honey comes from New Zealand, there are also good manuka honey produced in Australia, hence the on-going trademark dispute between the two countries.
4. Check out the reviews of other customers.

Here is a photo of an actual label on a jar of Wedderspoon Raw Manuka Honey KFactor 16+ (17.6 oz) 500g. Notice the words that are boxed up in yellow. These words tell you that the manuka honey has been through little or no processing. Such honey are safer for long-term consumption.

We’re listening.

Have something to say about this article? Leave us a reply below.