Glyphosate Testing

Glyphosate has become a hot topic in the food quality in recent years, but it’s been around since the 1970’s. Today, many countries use it as a weedkiller and crop desiccant.

It’s a chemical that we certainly don’t think belongs in food, including honey. Bees –– who pollinate agricultural crops in addition to flowering plants and trees ––are also subject to consuming glyphosate when foraging for nectar. So, not only is this chemical introduced to the environment, it also affects bees and other insects, animals, and humans. While the FAO and WHO recently cited that glyphosate is "unlikely to pose a carcinogenic risk to humans from exposure through the diet," we take a firm stance that our honey should be free from glyphosate.

In New Zealand, glyphosate is used as an herbicide by some farmers and is regularly tested for the presence of any residuals in foods. Since New Zealand does not allow the production of Genetically Modified Crops (which often use glyphosate), glyphosate prevalence is considered to be low relative to other countries. While there is a potential risk that bees may have unintended exposure, Comvita’s hives across the north island of New Zealand are placed in areas with low risk of glyphosate contamination. Furthermore, Manuka trees found in wild, remote areas of New Zealand, are well away from areas of intensive farming. For these reasons, Manuka Honey is at low risk of contamination – but we still test every drum and every batch of our honey for glyphosate to confirm it is not present.  Our testing protocol for glyphosate is highly sensitive, it can detect <0.01 parts per million, that’s less than 1/1000th of a gram of glyphosate per 100 kg of honey!

We also felt it was important to give further confidence in our Manuka Honey and therefore have verification from an outside agency known as The Detox Project. The Detox Project’s Glyphosate Residue Free program we’re now certified with 1) sets the standards to adhere to; 2) routinely tests for the presence of glyphosate in our Manuka Honey, and 3) conducts randomized “spot checks” of the finished product on retail shelves.  We are happy to announce our products are certified Glyphosate Residue Free. This means all Comvita Manuka Honey meets the standards set out by The Detox Project, which verifies products do not contain glyphosate. The Glyphosate Detox Project is an additional layer on top of our regular, stringent testing of every batch of Comvita Manuka Honey.

Key Takeaways:

• Glyphosate-Tested. Comvita tests every single drum of raw honey that enters our production facility, as part of our own Glyphosate Testing Program. The Glyphosate Residue Free program standards include additional testing and spot testing.

• Our honey falls well below the maximum thresholds set internationally. Not only do we meet the stringent EU standard for glyphosate, Comvita's own standard is even tighter. Our limit of detection is <0.01 ppm using an LC/MS method.

• While the use of glyphosate is approved in many countries around the world, we don't feel it should be present in food and therefore we ensure it is not. While the FAO and WHO recently cited that glyphosate is ""unlikely to pose a carcinogenic risk to humans from exposure through the diet,"" we take a firm stance that glyphosate should not be in foods.

• Our honey comes from the remote forests of New Zealand. Hives are placed in areas far from agriculture.

 To learn about our bee welfare code, click here.