Earlier this month, the Hong Kong Consumer Council announced tests carried out on New Zealand-produced manuka honey revealed traces of sugar present in the product.
However, Federated Farmers bees group committee member Peter Bell said ''the main problem is the test doesn't suit manuka''.
The problem was one of science and not contamination, he said.
''It's the manuka samples that are failing,'' Mr Bell said.
''But this has been going on for a couple of years now and the industry is well on to it.''
Feeding sugar to bees outside honey flow was common industry practice and he estimated 90% of beekeepers performed the practice.
However, now there was ''more awareness of not feeding close to when the honey flow starts'', he said.
The Hong Kong Consumer Council was using testing which was out-of-date and lacked the definitive nature of new testing which GNS Science scientist Karyne Rogers had developed, he said.
If any manuka honey producers were being dishonest, they needed to be discovered and dealt to but they would be a ''very small minority'', he said.
Bee Products Standards Council chairman Jim Edwards said the new test was adopted in New Zealand in May and Chinese authorities were aware of the new testing methodology and comfortable with its effectiveness - ''but that doesn't mean the Consumer Council in Hong Kong knows about it''.
If the Consumer Council had discovered adulteration of the honey, then he could only speculate about how it would have taken place.
''We have no evidence that deliberate adulteration is taking place in New Zealand,'' Mr Edwards said.
There remained a possibility it was being diluted overseas, however, ''that depends on how the product is leaving the country'', he said.
''If there are exports of greater bulk leaving the country we have less control.''
Otago Manuka beekeeper Peter Sales said while the findings did not ''reflect well'' on the manuka honey industry, it was ''unfairly so'' and he did not expect any long-term financial consequences.
''Many manuka producers are concerned that they are being unfairly labelled as cheats,'' Mr Sales said.
''The message will get out eventually that these are false positives.''
He would be surprised if any manuka honey producers deliberately adulterated their honey, he said.
''New Zealand beekeepers pride themselves on having a world-class product,'' Mr Sales said.
''Why would you risk tarnishing that with malpractice?
''New Zealand has some of the most valuable honeys in the world. We don't need to resort to that.''
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade is looking into the results and will work with authorities in Hong Kong to educate them on the unique challenges relating to testing manuka honey.
- Timothy Brown.