Honey Testing

The analytical panel behind a Medical Grade specification.

A Medical Grade honey is only as credible as the lab data behind it. These are the tests an accredited honey laboratory will routinely run, why each one matters, and which are non-negotiable before any honey enters a sterilisation and CE-mark pathway.

In short

›Every MGH™ batch is checked for botanical identity, activity, residues and moisture.
›Results are reported on a Certificate of Analysis tied to the batch number.
›Some food-honey markers are tracked over time rather than used to reject a batch.

Why testing matters

From food-grade jar to medical-device input.

Honey purchased at retail is tested only against food standards. A honey destined for medical use — wound dressing, oral gel, ENT rinse, surgical adjunct — must clear a much wider analytical net before it is sterilised, because gamma irradiation does nothing to remove residues, adulterants or mislabelled botanical origin.

The panel below is the working short-list. It maps directly onto the regulatory expectations of the New Zealand MPI mānuka definition, the EU honey directive, and the residue requirements of the major export markets. It is the same panel an independent laboratory would run for a manufacturer building a Medical Grade dossier.

The panel

Eight tests that should sit behind every Medical Grade batch.

LC-MS for chemistry, qPCR for DNA

Manuka 5 Attributes (NZ MPI)

WhatThe four chemical markers (2′-methoxyacetophenone, 2-methoxybenzoic acid, 3-phenyllactic acid, 4-hydroxyphenyllactic acid) plus one DNA marker from Leptospermum scoparium pollen.

Why it mattersMandatory under New Zealand law for any honey labelled or exported as ‘mānuka’. Distinguishes monofloral from multifloral and from non-mānuka entirely. The single most important authenticity test for a Manuka-derived Medical Grade specification.

UPLC, single analysis

MGO + DHA by UPLC

WhatMethylglyoxal (the antibacterial) and dihydroxyacetone (its nectar precursor) measured in a single ultra-performance liquid chromatography run.

Why it mattersMGO is the dose; DHA tells you whether the honey will still be gaining MGO during storage. A Medical Grade spec should declare both, with a stability curve over shelf life rather than a single release number.

UPLC-MS

Leptosperin

WhatA glycoside unique to Leptospermum nectar, measured in mg/kg.

Why it mattersCannot be added or formed by adulteration. The strongest single chemical marker of true mānuka provenance and a key authenticity check alongside MGO and DHA.

LC-MS

Tutin

WhatA neurotoxic compound that can transfer into honey when bees forage on honeydew from vines infesting tutu plants.

Why it mattersRegulated under a New Zealand MPI standard with a 0.7 mg/kg limit. Non-negotiable safety screen for any honey of NZ origin destined for medical use.

Spore culture / PCR

American Foulbrood (AFB)

WhatDetection of Paenibacillus larvae spores — the spore-forming bacterium that causes the fatal honey-bee brood disease.

Why it mattersSpores survive normal processing and can persist in finished honey. Screening protects hive supply, supports export documentation and is part of an auditable traceability chain back to the apiary.

AOAC 998.12 (EA-IRMS)

C4 sugar (AOAC and screening)

WhatStable-carbon isotope ratio testing for added cane or corn syrup (C4 plants) in a honey that should be C3-derived from nectar.

Why it mattersThe standard test for sugar adulteration. Required for export to several markets and a baseline integrity check before any honey enters a Medical Grade process.

LC-MS/MS

Glyphosate residues

WhatQuantification of the herbicide glyphosate and AMPA in honey.

Why it mattersMandatory for export to Japan and the EU. Residue exceedances at food level make a batch ineligible for medical use regardless of activity level.

Refractometry

Moisture

WhatFree water content, by refractive index.

Why it mattersMedical Grade specifications target moisture under 20% to ensure osmotic activity, microbial stability and predictable rheology in a dressing or single-use applicator.

Operational notes

What good looks like in practice.

Accreditation

Use a laboratory accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 (in New Zealand, by IANZ) for the specific method, not just the lab as a whole. Scope of accreditation should be checked test-by-test.

Turnaround

Routine honey panels typically return in five to ten working days; urgent service can return MGO, DHA and leptosperin in 24–48 hours. Build that lead time into batch release planning.

Sample chain

Sampling kit, sealed transfer and a documented chain-of-custody from drum to lab are part of the audit trail under . Results without traceable sampling are not usable evidence.

Need help interpreting a Certificate of Analysis?

We routinely review honey CoAs for manufacturers, regulators and clinical teams — checking method scope, limits of quantitation, stability claims and the gap between what the lab measured and what the label says.

Book a CoA review See the 8-criteria Benchmark

Markers we deliberately deprioritise

Why free acidity and HMF aren't useful Medical Grade markers.

Members only

Free acidity and HMF are useful food-honey checks, but they rise naturally with processing and ageing. Sign in free to read why we trend them on the CoA rather than use them to accept or reject a batch, and which criteria matter instead.

The science behind the results

What MGO, DHA and peroxide activity mean — and why medical honey is processed the way it is.

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