Whilst standards have been established to define whether or not a honey can be called manuka, little progress has been made with establishing a standard for describing the antibacterial activity of manuka honey. In New Zealand and in other countries there are laws that protect consumers from being misled, and laws to protect traders from unfair competition. Anyone making a claim for honey having a particular level of antibacterial activity when selling it needs to take care that they are not falling foul of these laws. This article has been written to ensure that false claims are not made unknowingly.