The Future Looks Bright for Waikato based SummerGlow Apiaries
By Tristan Hooker/MediaPA
The Manuka Honey industry can’t stop talking about the ‘This is Manuka Honey’ symposium, held in Auckland on 9 August, which attracted scientists from around the world and revealed ground breaking scientific discoveries around monofloral markers, adding to the ability of Manuka Honey producers like SummerGlow Apiaries to clearly identify and label their honey as genuine Manuka.
John Rawcliffe, of the Unique Manuka Factor (UMF) Honey Association says the symposium was a great success and the future of New Zealand’s Manuka Honey industry is looking bright.
“The symposium was a clear expression of the strength of the science and the networking that we’ve done and the recognition of the work that has gone into the classification of Manuka,” says Mr Rawcliffe.
“The future is looking a lot brighter to say the least. Through the quality mark rolling out, the classification gives us the ability to do further research, understanding a bit more about the key markers behind what is Manuka.”
James Jeffery, of SummerGlow Apiaries, says the research results presented at the symposium was very thorough and backed up what SummerGlow has always worked towards – accurate and clear identification and labelling of genuine Manuka Honey.
“The scientists each used different analytical techniques and all came to the same conclusion – that there are compounds unique to Manuka Honey and these compounds are the best way forward in identifying the product,” says Mr Jeffery.
‘The results have shown that we’ve been proactive and that we can, through this quality mark, give the consumer the confidence that what they’re buying is genuine Manuka Honey.”
