Wedderspoon, passionate steward of genuine Manuka Honey-based products and the #1 selling Manuka brand in North America, today announced that all its products are now Glyphosate Residue Free as certified by The Detox Project. This certification ensures that Wedderspoon’s Manuka Honey products do not contain the world’s most common herbicide, further enhancing the brand’s hive-to-home promise.
As part of its unwavering commitment to furthering the integrity of Manuka Honey in the U.S. and abroad, this announcement builds upon Wedderspoon’s track record for pioneering transparency in the Manuka category. For example, Wedderspoon has also achieved the highest level of food safety certification of any Manuka Honey facility globally for its New Zealand based-production for the past two years. The world-class Wedderspoon site was in fact the first Manuka Honey facility to receive an “Excellent” rating on Safe Quality Food (SQF) Level 3 Certification and still the only existing facility to achieve this level.
“Manuka Honey is truly like liquid gold, and we believe it should be honored as such,” said Rebecca Remley, CEO of Wedderspoon. “We were thrilled that last year the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) established once and for all a uniform standard for Manuka Honey, and in 2019 we’re continuing to do our part to continually advance the category and consumers’ trust that they are getting the real thing. We’re incredibly proud that our New Zealand facility previously earned the highest level of food safety certification for Manuka Honey in the world and to be the first Manuka to gain a new certification: Glyphosate Residue Free.”
As the largest and still fastest growing Manuka Honey brand in the U.S., Wedderspoon represents 57 percent of total U.S. Manuka sales scanned at retail stores. All its Manuka is shipped directly to the U.S. from its New Zealand facility. Additionally, as part of the rigorous SQF’s high standards for certification, Wedderspoon can trace every batch of honey from the beekeeper to the retailer shelf.
All Wedderspoon Manuka products strictly adhere to the only existing standard for Manuka Honey in the world, as established by New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI). The science-backed definition uses a combination of four chemical markers and one DNA marker to authenticate Manuka Honey. This means consumers can have complete confidence that honey labeled Manuka is genuine if it is packed in New Zealand. Wedderspoon builds upon this guarantee with its KFactor™ methodology, which goes above and beyond the MPI standard. KFactor is comprised of five “key factors” that focus on the holistic qualities of authentic Manuka Honey, guaranteeing the honey is: raw and unpasteurized, has traceability from hive-to-home, is Non-GMO Project Verified, is produced and packaged in New Zealand, and is free of antibiotics, glyphosate and pesticides.
To learn more about the KFactor™ and how it provides consumers with a transparent, informative way to understand the differences in Manuka Honey, visit http://wedderspoon.com/pages/kfactor. For more information on the MPI’s stewardship of the Manuka Honey industry and the new regulatory changes, visit https://www.mpi.govt.nz/growing-and-harvesting/honey-and-bees/manuka-honey/.
About Wedderspoon
Founded in 2005, Wedderspoon is a passionate steward of Manuka Honey-based products that awaken energized living. Wedderspoon offers a dynamic collection of expertly crafted products that capture the lusciously rare and powerful nature of genuine Manuka Honey, which is exclusively produced by bees feeding off the Manuka bush on New Zealand’s North and South Islands. From its use in the kitchen, in beauty and active lifestyle self-care rituals and more, Wedderspoon Manuka Honey’s vibrant properties make it one of the most highly sought-after holistic ingredients in the world. Wedderspoon products are available at specialty, natural and traditional grocers nationwide, including Whole Foods Market, Wegmans, Publix, Sprouts, CVS, Natural Grocers and online at Amazon.com. For more information, visit wedderspoon.com.