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 supplies Clinihoney — 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 Clinihoney — 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.