Abstract
This study was conducted to estimate some heavy metals cadmium, lead, nickel and iron in 15 samples of Iraqi honey with 3 replicates for each sample which were collected from apiaries near potential contamination areas in five Iraqi governorates, including Baghdad, Karbala, Babylon, Diyala and Salah al-Din. The atomic absorption technique was used to estimate the concentrations of heavy metals, the results showed that there were significant differences at (P≤0.05) between the concentrations of these elements in the honey samples, the highest concentrations of cadmium 0.123 mg/kg were recorded in Baghdad, near the petrochemical production complex, lead 4.657 mg/kg and nickel 0.023 mg/kg in Babylon near the power plant, iron was 1.863 mg/kg in Karbala near the waste collection and incineration plant, and all the concentrations of cadmium and lead in the studied honey samples were higher than the acceptable limits set by the European Commission Regulation.
Highlights
Honey is one of the oldest known natural foods that humans use it as a complete food all over the world, it is used in various drugs and medicines to treat many diseases (Patial et al, 2018), according to the European Commission (2001), honey is the natural sweet-tasting substance produced by honey bees (Apismelifera) from the nectar of plants or from some living secretions of plants, as honey bees absorb the nectar and collect it inside a special bag with certain special substances, it secretes it outside the bag to be deposited, dried and stored inside the honeycomb discs to mature
The atomic absorption technique was used to estimate the concentrations of heavy metals, the results showed that there were significant differences at (P≤0.05) between the concentrations of these elements in the honey samples, the highest concentrations of cadmium 0.123 mg/kg were recorded in Baghdad, near the petrochemical production complex, lead 4.657 mg/kg and nickel 0.023 mg/kg in Babylon near the power plant, iron was 1.863 mg/kg in Karbala near the waste collection and incineration plant, and all the concentrations of cadmium and lead in the studied honey samples were higher than the acceptable limits set by the European Commission Regulation
The results of this study showed that the local honey samples contained varying concentrations of heavy metals according to the areas of their collection
Summary
Honey is one of the oldest known natural foods that humans use it as a complete food all over the world, it is used in various drugs and medicines to treat many diseases (Patial et al, 2018), according to the European Commission (2001), honey is the natural sweet-tasting substance produced by honey bees (Apismelifera) from the nectar of plants or from some living secretions of plants, as honey bees absorb the nectar and collect it inside a special bag with certain special substances, it secretes it outside the bag to be deposited, dried and stored inside the honeycomb discs to mature. The honey bee flies and covers large areas and contacts many surfaces during its activity to search for nectar, so it is the main carrier of heavy metals to beehives and honey (Roman & Popiela 2011), the impact of heavy metal pollution as a result of industrial, agricultural and commercial activity on the health of bees and the quality and safety of honey has been documented due to its exposure to potential pollutants from industrial areas, the use of fertilizers and pesticides during agriculture, waste collection and treatment areas, and proximity to electrical stations and highways, which affects air and soil pollution, it pollutes the flowering plants that grow near those areas (Lambert et al, 2012; Alisawi 2013), this makes the study of honey contamination extremely important in the field of food safety, especially if we take into account that the majority of honey consumers are among sensitive groups such as children, adolescents, pregnant and lactating women and the elderly,in addition to its widespread use in most therapeutic foods and medical preparations for all age groups (Silici et al, 2013), in view of the wide geographical area in which honey is produced in Iraq from north to south and the different environmental and geographical conditions and economic and consumer activity among them, the study aimed to show the impact of honey production areas in some Iraqi cities in its content of some heavy metals
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