National Honey Library will soon Provide Authenticity of Honey

   There is a project currently underway to trace and track the origins of honey in Australia.
   This project is being conducted by the CRC Centre whom we are Research Partners with (see here).

   In this research project, scientists are collecting thousands of honey samples
   to develop a new national honey library.

   The project is aimed at increasing supply chain transparency by developing
   a new hive-to-shelf traceability system.

   The industry says it's important it has the tools to prove the authenticity of its honey
   following the 2018 adulteration scandal.

Inspiration

I’ve been in sales for the past 35 years, however, I’m the happiest when my wife Kerry and I see Sydney in our rear vision mirror and are going ‘bush’. Before buying our farm South West of Grafton (bottom end of the Northern Rivers), I knew absolutely nothing about living on the land or being a farmer, grower, or planter – that’s where Gather By came in.

After meeting Matt, founder and CEO of Gather By, Kerry and I got excited. The wheels in our heads were spinning, knowing in our hearts that this was our way of getting out of the city and building something meaningful for our retirement (within the next 5-10 years). With guidance from Gather By, we found a suitable property, made our land purchase and we now have around 3,500 plants in the ground with the next 1,250 plants being planted this Spring of 2020.

Crystallisation of any type of honey does happen from time to time, even Manuka, and this is perfectly normal. Pure, raw and unheated honey has a natural tendency to crystallise over time however this has no effect on the honey other than texture, in fact, the crystallisation of honey actually preserves the flavour and quality of your honey.

Gather By Bioactive Manuka Honey is sourced from the pristine bushland on the east coast of Australia. Each batch of honey is independently tested and its provenance is guaranteed from hive to home. 

To buy some of our new Gather By Bioactive Honey, visit our Honey store.

At Gather By, we have always taken our cleanliness and hygiene practices seriously, and now that we have met all HACCP* and BQUAL** requirements earlier this year, we now have the highest food safety certifications available to us both nationally and internationally.  Please see our expanded hygiene practices, particularly regarding COVID-19:-

• All contact surfaces cleaned & sanitised twice a day
• Hand sanitiser used by staff whenever entering the premises
• Hands washed with antibacterial soap routinely and also as needed throughout the day and dried with disposable paper towels
• All staff have a duty of disclosure regarding any communicable diseases
• Filling & production room is cleaned and sanitised daily – it is also separated from the rest of the premises and individually air-conditioned
• Only registered cleaning products are used
• Bathroom deep cleaned and sanitised daily
• All incoming parcels documented and sanitised prior to introduction to facility
• All products used are tracked back to suppliers for recall and food safety standards
• Daily and weekly cleaning program for all areas of the warehouse

Further measures were specifically taken regarding the COVID-19 virus:-

• Temporary closure of retail shop until further notice, preventing the public from entering the premises
• Courier deliveries must leave parcels at the entrance door with no contact
• Honey is now only being delivered via express post to everyone’s door and therefore purchases can now only be made online
• Only employees that are absolutely essential allowed in the facility and all follow strict government guidelines of personal distancing and hygiene
• Most meetings now by video conference – face-to-face meetings being kept to a minimum – personal distancing requirements are being met

If you have any queries regarding our hygiene practices, please click here

*Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point

** The Australian Honey Bee Industry Council (AHBIC) independently developed and audited food safety program

Welcome to this new decade of inspiring innovation for the Australian Manuka honey industry. We have some exciting new projects to share with you over the coming months, so stay tuned.

We have expanded globally and we are proud to say that we are now exporting to 7 countries. Our unique, pure, raw and potent medicinal and therapeutic honey is being used around the world for gut health & general wellness as well as wound healing & infections.

And we are also thrilled to announce that we achieved our BQUAL & HACCP certification last month which means that we are now recognised as an internationally accredited facility. This is huge news for us.

So drop in and say hi at our Ballina HQ at 1/200 Southern Cross Drive, right next to Ballina airport.

There's nothing more important than our health and vitality. So, this Christmas let someone know you love them by giving them a gift of good health - Australian Manuka Honey.

Visit us in our Headquarters in Ballina where you can get immunity support in a jar! Stay for a chat - we're happy to introduce you to all benefits of our Manuka Honey.

Our stationary shop is stocked with Manuka Honey containing different levels of MGO. We'll gladly assist in choosing a perfect matching product to your needs.

Regular opening times:
Mon to Fri: 10 AM - 4PM

From 9th till 17th of December our stationary shop will be closed.

During this short break please don't hesitate to place online orders through our website:
www.gatherby.org/shop

Please call 0414 759745 to plan a visit outside working hours

It's no secret that Manuka Honey heals wounds, burns, and cuts and when taken internally promotes general wellness. Perhaps now, it's more unique than ever as the fight with devastating recent fires in NSW and their impact on all our lives continues.

Sadly, millions of bees have perished in the fires in NSW with habitat and valuable food sources also destroyed. Many of our beekeepers have lost their bees and livelihood for at least several years until the bush recovers. It's not only our beekeepers who are impacted. We all rely on bees, on their pollination of food that we eat with honeybees pollinating 70 of the 100 crop species that feed 90% of our world's population.

We are doing everything possible to help those who are suffering as a result of recent fires:

https://bit.ly/2OVbipQ

Pictured below is the fruit of our labour and the result of so much hard work, and - as you can see - it’s very impressive!

Getting to this point, at the end of such a long process, is an incredibly rewarding feeling. Knowing that we are contributing to the regeneration of other native Australian bush, whilst providing bees with the fodder they need to produce our unique medicinal honey, is why we love what we do at Gather By!

Without the help and support of the local community, Gather By wouldn’t be able keep our unique regenerative model functioning. Our team, with the help of volunteers, worked from the early morning to late at night digging holes, planting, putting down mats and placing protection around the seedlings to shield them from harsh weather conditions. This is tiring work, however, we make sure our employees and volunteers get plenty of well-deserved breaks - as you can see! 

It is this dedication and hard work that Gather By prides itself on and what makes our final product so exceptional.