Creation of products made from honey based on the content of elements determined by ICP-OES.

Abstract

People of different age can consume honey, but the taste is often not accepted easily. Therefore, products made from honey with a pleasant taste and high nutritional and health benefits are highly demanded on the market. Honey is a bioindicator of environmental pollution. Certain plants are known as high accumulators of toxic elements. Here on the example of three honey-based prototypes, with sesame, shelled pumpkin, sunflower seeds, plums, walnut, almond, hazel, and cinnamon as minor ingredients, we demonstrated the creation of new products putting the accent on the content of toxic and potentially toxic elements, usually treated as irrelevant in making products. Nineteen elements (Al, B, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, P, Pb, Se, Si, and Zn) were determined by ICP-OES after oven-based and wet digestion methods in blossom honey and prototypes samples. Among the investigated elements, the most abundant element in blossom honey for the products and the investigated products was potassium in most cases. Investigated honey (used for the products) and two of the products contain small quantities of toxic and potentially toxic elements. However, the second product, containing besides honey two accumulators of toxic metals (sesame, sunflower seeds), shows higher values for toxic elements. Therefore, the ICP-OES analysis can be a good step in making new products with high nutritional and health values but almost free from toxic and potentially toxic elements.