New honey drums

Why does Comvita only accept Mānuka honey that is in brand new drums?

Transcript

EllaMae Stevenson (Comvita)

All the drums we get for medical honey are new. They come with a declaration, and we use that later on for the paperwork.

Young Mee Yoon (Comvita)

Beekeepers used to use drums again and again. If honey drums are washed - because the bungs are so small on a honey drum, it’s impossible to clean them completely. They cannot be dried completely, so moisture is introduced in the honey. Also, there’s the possibility of contamination from washing chemicals, and also we have a problem of a traceability check.

Traceability is quite important - if you have any undesirable materials or something harmful for humans - then we have to trace back to where exactly this product is from.