Nearly half of UK honey is fake - here’s how to spot a counterfeit Manuka jar
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An EU investigation found 46% of honey sold in the UK is fake. And if yours comes in a glass jar, that might be your first warning sign.
Nearly half the honey on sale in Britain could be fake. That’s the shock finding from a major EU investigation, which discovered that 46 percent of products tested had been tampered with – and every single UK sample failed the purity test.
The worst part? It’s not just cheap supermarket blends being faked. High-end honeys like Manuka, often sold for four or five times the price of regular honey, are among the most commonly counterfeited. And if you’ve bought one in a glass jar, you might have already been duped.
It sounds odd, but genuine Manuka honey usually comes in plastic, not glass. That’s because proper Manuka can only be made in New Zealand, and the best producers, like Manuka Doctor, ship it straight from the hive in lightweight recycled plastic jars to avoid breakage and contamination. According to Matt Steele from Manuka Doctor, if it’s in glass, there’s a good chance it’s been repacked somewhere else. That extra step opens the door to dilution or blending. It’s just not how they do things in New Zealand. So while glass might look posher on the shelf, it could be a sign your jar was filled far from the source – and not with the good stuff.
There are other warning signs too. If the label doesn’t include an MGO number, there’s no certified antibacterial content. If there’s no batch code, the honey probably can’t be traced back to the hive. And if the origin seems vague or mentions more than one country, it’s worth walking away. Genuine Manuka should proudly say it comes from New Zealand, and nothing else.
Manuka Doctor’s honey is harvested and packed in New Zealand, independently tested, and comes with verified MGO ratings and full traceability. You can get a 500g jar of MGO 30+ for just £7.84 while this offer lasts.
This is the same honey recommended by TV doctor Hilary Jones, and backed by over 100,000 five-star reviews. It’s the real deal – and it doesn’t need fancy glass packaging to prove it.
Glass jars might look premium, but when it comes to Manuka honey, they could be your first warning sign. If you want guaranteed quality, look for brands that pack at source, list their MGO rating and tell you exactly where your honey came from. Because nobody wants to pay top whack for a syrupy fake.
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