Brand check
A brand-by-brand check against the four criteria that define medical grade honey: controlled sourcing, characterised activity, terminal sterilisation, and registration as a medical device. Independent and unsponsored.
The four criteria
Apiary-level traceability, residue monitoring, audited supply chain.
MGO / DHA / peroxide / water activity / pH released per batch on a Certificate of Analysis.
Gamma irradiation at ~25 kGy to SAL 10⁻⁶ under ISO 11137.
CE mark (Class IIa/IIb) or FDA 510(k) for the finished product; ISO 13485 for the manufacturer.
MGO grade alone does not make a honey medical grade. A jar of MGO 850 Manuka from a supermarket may have remarkable antibacterial chemistry — but if it has not been sterilised, characterised and registered as a device, it is still a food product. The MGH™ standard and our definition page explain the full criteria.
Brand by brand
Advancis Medical (UK)
The reference UK medical-grade Manuka range. Gamma-sterilised, supplied with COA and sterility statement, prescribable on the NHS. Used in tissue-viability practice across the UK.
Comvita / Integra LifeSciences (US)
The dominant US medical-grade brand. Gel, paste and dressing formats are 510(k)-cleared for wounds and burns. Note: Medihoney-branded culinary jars also exist — those are food, not medical, products.
Triticum (Netherlands)
European medical-grade range built on standardised non-Manuka honey (Revamil / Bfactor). Stocked by several UK and EU wound-care distributors; some NHS trusts list it on formulary.
Matoke / ManukaMed
Specialist sterile-bulk and finished-format ranges used in surgical and complex-wound settings. Sold through hospital formulary supply chains, not retail.
Comvita's branded jars are food. The same company also supplies sterile bulk medical grade honey to formulators under ISO 13485, but that is a separate B2B product and not what you buy at retail.
High-MGO Manuka jars are popular and authentically tested for MGO — but the product itself is a food. It is not gamma-sterilised, not CE-marked, not 510(k)-cleared, and is not supplied with a sterility statement for clinical use.
Wedderspoon is a well-known retail Manuka brand. KFactor describes botanical authenticity (pollen content), not antibacterial activity — so it is not directly comparable to MGO. Not a sterile or registered medical device.
Single-origin New Zealand Manuka sold as a premium food. Genuine high-MGO honey, but no sterilisation, no medical-device registration — it is not a wound-care product.
Direct-to-consumer Manuka with clear MGO labelling. As with all retail jars, it is a food product — useful in the kitchen, not a clinical wound dressing.
Raw, cold-processed Manuka. Strong food product with full traceability — but not gamma-irradiated and not registered as a medical device.
Information compiled from publicly available regulatory listings, manufacturer documentation and the NHS Drug Tariff at time of writing. Brand status and registrations can change — verify with the manufacturer or your regulatory team before clinical or formulation decisions.
FAQ
No. Wedderspoon is a food product. It is genuine New Zealand Manuka with KFactor pollen authenticity grading, but it is not gamma-sterilised, not CE-marked or FDA-cleared as a medical device, and is not supplied with a sterility statement. It is safe and useful in the kitchen, but it is not a wound-care product.
No. Manuka Health is high-MGO Manuka sold as a food and supplement. The MGO numbers on the jars are real, but the product itself has not been processed and registered as a medical device. The medical-grade equivalents in wound care are Activon, Algivon, Medihoney and L-Mesitran.
No. Comvita's retail jars are food. Separately, Comvita supplies gamma-sterilised bulk Manuka under ISO 13485 to medical-device manufacturers as the raw material for products like Medihoney. The retail jar and the bulk medical-grade material are different products.
There is no single MGO floor that defines medical grade — medical grade is about process (sourcing, characterisation, sterilisation, ISO 13485, device registration) as much as activity. That said, medical-grade Manuka dressings typically declare MGO floors in the 250–550+ range with a stability curve maintained across shelf life.
It is not recommended for anything beyond a minor superficial scrape. Food-grade honey is not sterile — it can carry Clostridium botulinum spores and other organisms that pose a risk in deeper or chronic wounds. For wound care, use a registered medical-grade product on a clinician's advice.
The Benchmark
Eight criteria. One score out of 100. Use it to evaluate any honey-based medical product on the market — Manuka, peroxide-active or polyphenol-rich. Built from regulatory practice (MDR, FDA 510(k), TGA), monofloral standards (MPI for Manuka, equivalent process controls for non-Manuka), and the wound-care evidence base.
At a glance
| # | Criterion | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Verified botanical identity | 15 |
| 02 | Quantified activity with stability data | 15 |
| 03 | Validated sterilisation | 15 |
| 04 | Documented bioburden specification | 10 |
| 05 | Regulatory route on file | 15 |
| 06 | Quality system | 10 |
| 07 | Claims discipline | 10 |
| 08 | Independent clinical evidence | 10 |
| Total | 100 / 100 |
The detail
Sign in free to see what counts as a pass, partial or fail for each of the eight criteria, plus the scoring scheme and grade bands you can use to evaluate any honey-based medical product.
Get scored
Cite this rubric
MedicalGradeHoney.com (2026). The Medical Grade Honey Benchmark — an 8-criteria scorecard. medicalgradehoney.com/benchmark
Comparison
Four product lines dominate the medical-grade honey market. They differ in botanical source, mechanism of action, evidence base and regulatory route. This is where they line up — and where they don't.
Side by side
| Attribute | Multiple (Comvita, Manukamed, etc.) | Derma Sciences / Integra | Bfactory NL | Matoke Holdings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Botanical source | Leptospermum scoparium / polygalifolium | Leptospermum (Australian / NZ blend) | Greenhouse-controlled multifloral | Multifloral, bioengineered for H₂O₂ release |
| Primary active mechanism | Non-peroxide MGO (stable, dose-quantified) | Non-peroxide MGO (Leptospermum) | Bee defensin-1 + low peroxide + low pH | Engineered slow-release H₂O₂ |
| MGO declared in mg/kg | ||||
| Validated sterilisation | Gamma 25 kGy (ISO 11137) | Gamma 25 kGy | Gamma | Gamma |
| CE / MDR class | Class IIb (multiple) | Class IIb | Class IIb | Class IIb |
| FDA 510(k) cleared | ||||
| Cochrane evidence base | ||||
| Biofilm disruption (in vitro) | ||||
| Activity stable to enzyme catalase | ||||
| Shelf life (typical) | 36 months | 24–36 months | 24 months | 24 months |
| Botanical traceability marker | Leptosperin + DHA + DNA | Leptosperin | Process-controlled | Process-controlled |
Compiled from public regulatory filings (FDA 510(k), CE / MDR declarations), peer-reviewed literature and manufacturer technical data sheets. Independently maintained — corrections welcome.
We ensure honey is MGH™ Certified before selling it in bulk or for manufacturing, meeting the MGH™ Certified standards — for advanced wound care in human and animal health, cosmetics and veterinary products.