ANTIMICROBIAL DRUGS, PESTICIDES AND PAHs IN HONEY

Jelena Petrovic,Jasna Prodanov Radulović,Radomir Ratajac,Igor Stojanov,Jelena Vranješević,Brankica Kartalović

doi:10.46784/eavm.v14i2.286

Jelena Petrovic, Jasna Prodanov Radulović + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.46784/eavm.v14i2.286

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Abstract

Honey is a very popular food that is often consumed by immunocompromised people, so it is crucial that it is safe. The safety of honey is determined by numerous hazards- the chemical ones like residues of sulfonamides, lindane and PAHs. Honey from our country contains high concentrations of banned antimicrobial substances such as sulfonamides (3.9% of samples). The frequent presence of lindane in honey is not unexpected considering the fact that this pesticide is present in the soil, plants and animals from Serbia. PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) as a relatively unexplored chemical hazard in honey proved to be widespread in the honey from Serbia- even 6.6% of honey samples contains toxic concentrations of these compounds. The control of chemical hazards and the production of safe honey in Serbia could be improved by implementing better measures to prevent illegal use of antimicrobial drugs, pollution control and further research in the field of risk assessment.

Highlights

Honey is the most important product of honey bees
The main goal of this paper is to present the results of our research on the presence of sulfonamide residues, lindane and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in honey produced in our country and to point out the importance of these chemical hazards for the safety of our honey
Examination of honey samples from Serbia revealed the presence of sulfonamides in 3.9% of samples (Table 1)

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Honey is the most important product of honey bees. It has been used in the diet since prehistoric times, mainly because of its pleasant taste and nutritional properties. The main goal of this paper is to present the results of our research on the presence of sulfonamide residues, lindane and PAHs in honey produced in our country and to point out the importance of these chemical hazards for the safety of our honey. Any occurrence of sulfonamide residues in honey is a result of their intentional and illegal use for prevention and treatment of bee diseases. Examination of honey in the EU imported from third countries showed that 20 - 50% of the samples contained residues of antimicrobial drugs, most commonly streptomycin, sulfonamides, tetracyclines and chloramphenicol. In our research it was found that the average concentration of sulfonamides is 10 times higher in honey compared to meat produced in Serbia, and the content of residues in meat is not higher than the maximum residue limits (Kartalović et al, 2020). In other samples (27.9%) risky amounts of PAH8 were detected and in four samples of polyfloral honey (6.6%) extreme values of PAH8 were detected (58.9 -656.2 ng/g PAH8)

Limit of the detection

Findings

CONCLUSION