Levels and health risk assessment of trace metals in honey from different districts of Bench Sheko Zone, Southwest Ethiopia

Honey Bee Products as Bio Indicator of Heavy Metals Pollution and Health Risk Assessment Through the Consumption of Multifloral Honey Collected in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan

The study assessed the health risks associated with heavy metal ingestion and explored the use of honey bee products as a bio-indicator for heavy metal pollution. All honey bee products tested showed heavy metals, but some honey samples had concentrations exceeding permissible limits for Cd, Pb, Ni, and Cr. The mean concentrations of heavy metals (mg/kg) in the honey, propolis, bee wax, and bee pollen were Fe (1.32) > Zn (1.31) > Pb (0.46) > Ni (0.18) > Cr (0.16) > Cu (0.14) > Co (0.12) > Mn (0.05) > Cd (0.03), Fe (8) > Zn (1.13) > Mn (0.59) > Pb (0.13) > Ni (0.07) > Cu (0.06) > Co (0.05) > Cr (0.03) > Cd (0.02), Fe (1.31) > Pb (0.41) > Ni (0.407) > Zn(0.25) > Mn (0.12) > Co(0.10) > Cu (0.07) > Cr (0.05) > Cd (0.002), and Fe (2.2) > Zn (0.75) > Ni (0.25) > Pb (0.16) > Cu (0.05) > Mn (0.045) > Co (0.04) > Cr (0.01) > Cd(0.002), respectively. Similarly, the mean concentration of heavy metals (mg/kg) in the soil, flowers and pine pollen was Fe (539.08) > Zn (89.53) > Mn (66.91) > Ni (58.5) > Co (19.2) > Cr (11.42) > Pb (6.58) > Cu (5.71) > Cd (0.19), Fe (3.12) > Zn (0.95) > Mn (0.72) > Ni (0.29) > Cu (0.16) > Cr (0.14) > Pb (0.059) > Co (0.057) > Cd (0.003) and Fe (2.59) > Zn (1.75) > Mn (0.43) > Pb (0.34) > Co (0.1) > Cr (0.07) > Cu (0.06) > Cd (0.039) > Ni (0.03), respectively. The atomic absorption spectrophotometry procedure was validated through a recovery study and achieved accuracy through the limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ). The mean Bio concentration factor (BCF) indicated that the transfer from soil to honey was higher than from soil to flower. The metal pollution index (MPI) of the selected indicators was in descending order: soil > honey > flowers > propolis > pine pollen > beeswax > bee pollen. The hazard quotient (HQ) and hazard index (HI) were below one, showing no chronic health risk. The carcinogenic risk (CR) of Cd, Cr, and Ni in honey for children, male and female adults for the consumers exceeds the acceptable level, making Cd, Cr, and Ni the most concerning heavy metals in honey. The study suggests that regular monitoring of heavy metal pollution is essential.

Assessing Mineral Content and Heavy Metal Exposure in Abruzzo Honey and Bee Pollen from Different Anthropic Areas

Honey and bee pollen offer potential health benefits due to their nutrient and bioactive molecules, but they may also harbor contaminants such as heavy metals. This study aimed to assess the content of different metals, including Mg, Al, K, Ca, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Zn, Cu, As, Rb, Sr, Cd, Cs, Tl, Pb and U, in honey and bee pollen collected from different Abruzzo region (Italy) areas (A1, A2, A3, A4), characterized by different anthropic influences described by Corine Land Cover maps. Differences were observed in the mineral and heavy metal content associated with the influence of biotic and abiotic factors. Honeys were found to be safe in regard to non-carcinogenic risk in all the consumer categories (THQm < 1). A particular carcinogenic risk concern was identified for toddlers associated with Cr (LCTR > 1 × 10-4) in A1, A2 and A3 apiaries. Pb and Ni represent potential non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic health risks in children and adults due to bee pollen consumption, showing high values of THQm and LCTR. The results suggest the advantages of utilizing bee products to screen mineral and heavy metal content, providing valuable insights into environmental quality and potential health risks.

Review of the Terminology, Approaches, and Formulations Used in the Guidelines on Quantitative Risk Assessment of Chemical Hazards in Food

This paper reviews the published terminology, mathematical models, and the possible approaches used to characterise the risk of foodborne chemical hazards, particularly pesticides, metals, mycotoxins, acrylamide, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The results confirmed the wide variability of the nomenclature used, e.g., 28 different ways of referencing exposure, 13 of cancer risk, or 9 of slope factor. On the other hand, a total of 16 equations were identified to formulate all the risk characterisation parameters of interest. Therefore, the present study proposes a terminology and formulation for some risk characterisation parameters based on the guidelines of international organisations and the literature review. The mathematical model used for non-genotoxic hazards is a ratio in all cases. However, the authors used the probability of cancer or different ratios, such as the margin of exposure (MOE) for genotoxic hazards. For each effect studied per hazard, the non-genotoxic effect was mostly studied in pesticides (79.73%), the genotoxic effect was mostly studied in PAHs (71.15%), and both effects were mainly studied in metals (59.4%). The authors of the works reviewed generally opted for a deterministic approach, although most of those who assessed the risk for mycotoxins or the ratio and risk for acrylamide used the probabilistic approach.

A probabilistic approach to compare the risk associated with heavy metals and bromine in honey from Dominican Republic, Mexico, Mozambique and Spain

This study aims to analyse the risk to consumers given the presence of heavy metals and bromine in honey from different countries. A probabilistic approach was applied to assess carcinogenic risk. Concerning exposure, Al in Spain (3.3E-04 mg/kgBw/day), B in Dominican Republic and Mexico (2E-04 mg/kgBw/day in both cases) and Fe in Mexico and Mozambique had the highest values (5E-05 and 4.8E-05 mg/kgBw/day). In risk characterisation, the values were less than 1 for hazard index (HI), meaning that the consumption of honey represents a low level of concern for non-genotoxic effects. A combination of margin of exposure and probability of exceedance results that exposure to Pb pose no threat. The probability of suffering cancer for Br, Cd, Ni and Pb was lower than 1.0E-06 and, therefore, considered safe. However, the risk at the 95th percentile of Br in Dominican Republic was 1.18E-04 in adults and 2.45E-04 in children, exceeding 1.0E-04, and therefore, considered intolerable. Finally, the sensitivity analysis indicated that the most influential factor in the HI was the consumption in adults and the concentration of Ni in children, whereas for cancer risk, were the concentrations of Ni, Cd, Br and Pb, in both cases.

Human Health Risk Assessment to the Consumption of Medicinal Plants with Melliferous Potential from the Romanian South-Eastern Region

This study presents the impact on human health by consuming medicinal herbs with high melliferous potential (HMPs) from botanical areas with different pollution levels. First, the bioaccumulation of the plants' parts has been determined. The study assessed the potential health risks associated with the ingestion of various mineral species (macroelements-K, Ca, Mg, Na; microelements-Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, and one trace element Cd) from three types of HMPs (Sambucus nigra (SnL), Hypericum perforatum (Hp), and Tilia tomentosa (Tt)). The average concentrations of these elements were not similar even in the same type of HMPs. Nevertheless, all samples contained detectable levels of the studied elements. The average concentrations of the studied elements were very low (significantly lower than the legal limit set by the WHO). The study's findings indicated that the potential health risks associated with ingesting the elements in HMPs were within acceptable limits for children and adults. The hazard quotient (HQ) for Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, and Cd and the hazard index (HI) for the minerals from HMPs were significantly lower than the acceptable limit (HQ and HI = 1). Similarly, the carcinogenic risk for chemical substances (Riskccs) were lower than or close to the acceptable limit (1 × 10^-4).