Honey producer has bee in bonnet over TV show | Wairarapa News | Local News in Wairarapa

A Close Up report that labelled the New Zealand Manuka honey industry as "rife with false claims and deceit" and "in need of a clean-up" has put a bee in the bonnet of a Wairarapa producer and advocate.

The Wednesday evening segment reported that jars of Manuka honey were being sold overseas for up to $200 a pop, "but the claims on the packaging often failed to match what's inside, meaning huge profits for unscrupulous producers".

Active Manuka honey is well known for its anti-bacterial and healing properties, and is often used to combat digestive problems.

Peter Ferris, managing director of Wairarapa Manuka Limited, believes the story vilified the entire industry instead of the small number of packing companies he said were responsible for misrepresenting the product in labels.

Mr Ferris, who is also president of the National Beekeepers Association Southern North Island Branch, said the programme constantly indicated "producers" were misrepresenting the contents.

However, producers did not receive "anything close" to $200 a jar and were instead paid according to the tests carried out by the packers who buy the honey. It was at the packing stage that the true content of the jars were hopefully labelled correctly, he said.

Mr Ferris was especially angry that John Rawcliffe, of the "Honey Association" - which he said was in fact a "very small group of people" - publicly called for a review that he knew was already under way.

He said Mr Rawcliffe was present at a meeting of industry members at Government in May, where it was resolved a review should be done.

In a letter of complaint sent to Mr Rawcliffe, Mr Ferris wrote: "We were both at a meeting at the Government caucus room where it was agreed that a group of industry members were going to work together to try and sort this situation out, and thus enable the honey industry to move forward.

"You have unfortunately placed a cloud over the honey industry and have perhaps jeopardised the chances to a solution to the problems aired, that was and still is, being worked on by the working group formed at the meeting in Parliament."

Mr Ferris said the report accredited Mr Rawcliffe as being from the Honey Association when he should have been identified as representing the Active Manuka Honey Association.

The AMHA has developed the "Unique Manuka Factor" (UMF) standard, which it said aimed to "identify and set apart the type of manuka honey which has the UMF healing property".

"You represent the AMHA - an organisation in which collective members try to set the level for UMF honey and the rights to use the branding as a tool," Mr Ferris wrote.

"By no means do you represent all the Manuka producers as a collective body. A reasonable amount of the larger Manuka honey packers, yes, but not the producers."

He suspected crying foul on the Close Up programme would "as usual" result in reduced sales on the local market. "Every time in the past when there has been reports in the media of court proceedings, misrepresentation of product labelling etc, local sales of Manuka honey fall and we get comments of 'no, we don't want that Manuka - UMF stands for there's something wrong with that lot of honey'," Mr Ferris said.

"If the same reaction starts to happen overseas Manuka honey certainly won't be liquid gold anymore and we will have to revert back to using it as animal feed, because no one will want it."

He has also written a letter of complaint to show presenter Mark Sainsbury.

The Natural Products New Zealand group has also responded to the report, sending a press statement to assure consumers that New Zealand's main Manuka honey manufacturers are selling "quality Manuka honey, true to label".

"Most responsible manufacturers of Manuka Honey have quality assurance procedures to ensure the highest quality products are delivered to their domestic and export customers," group executive director Michelle Palmer said.

"It is a shame that less-responsible companies are able to operate as an implied part of 'Brand New Zealand' - this illustrates the need for the independent regulatory system the natural products industry has asked for."