Gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry multi-residual analysis of contaminants in Italian honey samples

Human exposure to endocrine-disrupting organochlorine and organophosphate pesticides in locally produced and imported honey in Nigeria

The practice of exposing honeybees to pesticides by bee-keepers or via agricultural crops, is one of the ways in which honey becomes contaminated with pesticides. Though honey has many health advantages, however, human exposure to pesticides via consumption of honey has generated public health concerns due to their endocrine-disruptive abilities. Thus, this study evaluated human exposure to endocrine-disrupting pesticides in honey from Nigeria to establish the safety of honey consumed in Nigeria. Honey were analyzed for pesticides using a gas chromatograph combined with an electron capture detector. The concentrations of ∑20 OCPs and ∑14 OPPs in the honey ranged from 0.45-1045 ng/g and 1.13-632 ng/g respectively. The values of both individual and cumulative non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks for humans were <1 and 1 × 10-4 respectively suggesting that there are no potential health risks via the honey consumption. The source analysis showed that pesticides in these honey originated from historical and recent/fresh use.

Levels of Contamination by Pesticide Residues, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), and 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) in Honeys Retailed in Europe

Honey is consumed worldwide because of its nutritional, therapeutic and medicinal properties. Generally, honey should reach the consumer in a pure form, but it is often contaminated in various ways. Thus, this study was designed to check for the presence of pesticide residues, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) levels, and the content of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) in selected European honeys (26 samples) obtained from shops. The most frequently detected organochlorine pesticide (OCPs) was 4,4'-DDD, which was found in fourteen honey samples. Slovakian rapeseed honey was most polluted due to the presence of eight OCPs. The presence of organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) was detected in all the analysed samples, and at least one OP in each tested sample exceeded the acceptable limit. PAHs were detected in most of the analysed samples. As for PAH4s, benzo[a]pyrene was found in forest honey from Slovakia and in Polish lime tree honey, whereas wild flower honey from the UK contained the highest level of PAH4. The investigated honeys from Spain and France met the requirements for HMF content, while honeys of Slovak, Italian and Polish origin in most cases exceeded the established levels (40 mg/kg).

Evaluation of Chemical Contaminants in Conventional and Unconventional Ragusana Provola Cheese

Organic contaminants belonging to various classes (plasticizers, bisphenols, pesticides, PCBs, and PAHs,) were analyzed in samples of provola cheese produced from Friesian dairy cows fed with a conventional diet (group CTR), and an unconventional diet (group BIO) enriched with olive cake (OC). The results show that for most determined contaminants, the differences between the two diets were very slight, indicating that the contamination does not depend on the olive cake integrated in the unconventional diet. The results also indicate that the minimal contamination could result from environmental contamination or the production process. It can be concluded that unconventional provola is as safe for the consumer as conventional provola.

Comparative Analysis of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Halogenated Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Different Parts of Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt

Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt., a medicinal herb and edible plant, is very popular among East Asian countries. The perilla leaves, stems and seeds can be used as traditional medicines and foods. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and halogenated PAHs (HPAHs) are organic pollutants that are widely present in the environment, such as in water, air and soil, and are harmful to humans. In this study, the contents of 16 PAHs and 4 HPAHs in perilla leaves, stems and seeds were determined by gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A total of 12 PAHs were detected in all samples, and no HPAHs were detected. The total contents of PAHs in perilla leaves, stems and seeds varied from 41.93 to 415.60 ng/g, 7.02 to 51.52 ng/g and 15.24 to 180.00 ng/g, respectively. The statistical analyses showed that there were significant differences in the distribution of PAHs in perilla leaves, stems and seeds. On the basis of the toxic equivalent quantity (TEQ) and incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) model, the cancer risks of the intake of perilla leaves, stems and seeds were assessed to be from 3.30 × 10-8 to 2.11 × 10-5, 5.52 × 10-9 to 5.50 × 10-8 and 1.20 × 10-8 to 1.41 × 10-7, respectively. These were lower than 10-4 (the priority risk level of the EPA) and suggested that there may be almost no cancer risk from the intake of these traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs).

A New Approach for Determination of the Botanical Origin of Monofloral Bee Honey, Combining Mineral Content, Physicochemical Parameters, and Self-Organizing Maps

A new approach for the botanical origin determination of monofloral bee honey is developed. The methodology combines mineral content and physicochemical parameters determination with intelligent statistics such as self-organizing maps (SOMs). A total of 62 monofloral bee honey samples were analysed, including 31 linden, 14 rapeseed, 13 sunflower, and 4 acacia. All of them were harvested in 2018 and 2019 from trusted beekeepers, after confirming their botanical origin, using melissopalynological analysis. Nine physicochemical parameters were determined, including colour, water content, pH, electrical conductivity, hydroxymethylfurfural content, diastase activity, specific optical rotation, invertase activity, and proline. The content of thirty chemical elements (Ag, Al, As, B, Ba, Bi, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Fe, Ga, In, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, P, Pb, Rb, S, Se, Sr, Te, V, and Zn) was measured using ICP-OES, ICP-MS, and FAAS as instrumental techniques. The visualisation of the SOMs shows an excellent separation of honey samples in five well-defined clusters—linden, rapeseed, acacia, sunflower, and polyfloral honey—using the following set of 16 descriptors: diastase activity, hydroxymethylfurfural content, invertase activity, pH, specific optical rotation, water content, Al, B, Cr, Cs, K, Na, Ni, Rb, V, and Zn.

Occurrence of Pesticide Residues in Spanish Honey Measured by QuEChERS Method Followed by Liquid and Gas Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry

In the current study, the QuEChERS extraction method with slight modifications, followed by liquid and gas chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry, was applied for the determination of 399 pesticide residues in 91 raw honey samples from northeastern Spain. The quality control procedure established in Document No. SANTE/12682/2019 was successfully followed: the responses in reagent blank and blank honey samples were below 30% of the reporting limit (0.01 mg kg⁻¹) for all analysed compounds, the correlation coefficients (R²) were higher than 0.99 in most calibration curves, the deviation of back-calculated concentration from the true concentration was below ±20% (using the standard of 50 μg L⁻¹ concentration), and the recoveries of spiked samples on matrix were within the range of 70–120% for almost all analytes. Only chlorfenvinphos (2–7.8 ng/g) and coumaphos (8.8–37 ng/g) were detected in 13 samples, and neither were observed to exceed their maximum residue limits (MRLs). Dietary risk assessment for pesticide residues in honey above their lowest calibrated level (LCL) was performed, and two different age groups, adults and infants, were considered as populations at risk. The contribution of honey lay far below the acceptable daily intake (ADI) for both pesticide residues. Therefore, according to our results, honey is unlikely to pose concerns for consumer health in terms of its contribution to dietary long-term exposure. However, to maintain the level of compliance, pesticide residues in honey should be continuously monitored.

Discrimination of Tunisian Honey by Mineral and Trace Element Chemometrics Profiling

The concentrations of 19 chemical elements have been determined in 36 honey samples of different botanical (wildflower, eucalyptus, eucalyptus red flowers, prickly pears, lemon blossom, thyme, almond, rosemary and jujube) honeys from the three geographical areas of Tunisia (Sidi Bouzid, Nabeul and Sfax) using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The aim of this work was to use the multielement analysis together with chemometric tools to verify the botanical and the geographical origin of honeys. The correlation on the basis of mineral element content between the honey samples and their botanical and/or geographical origins was in some measure achieved. The data collected on the samples were also used to evaluate the nutritional quality and the potential health risks associated with elements via consumption of the Tunisian honey. According to the results obtained, the intake of essential elements was small, and the potential health risks associated with toxic or potentially toxic elements via consumption of this food were overall insignificant.

Determination of polychlorinated biphenyls in honeybee, pollen, and honey samples from urban and semi-urban areas in Turkey

In recent years, honeybees and bee products such as pollen and honey have been used as bioindicators for monitoring environmental pollution. Unfortunately, there are few studies about polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations in honeybees and bee products from Turkey. Honeybee and pollen samples were taken between May and September 2017, and honey samples were taken between July and September 2017 at urban and semi-urban areas in Bursa (Turkey). PCB concentrations measured by gas chromatography-microelectron capture detector (GC-μECD) were found to be 135.46 ± 6.53, 81.47 ± 23.52, and 106.35 ± 21.60 ng g^-1 dry weight (dw) for honeybee, pollen, and honey samples in the urban area, respectively; and 126.35 ± 26.54, 67.57 ± 27.34, and 118.88 ± 55.28 ng g^-1 dw for honeybee, pollen, and honey samples in the semi-urban area, respectively. Pearson correlation was made between meteorological parameters and pollutant concentrations. According to the correlation results, a significant relationship was found between the pollen and honey results and the total cloudiness and temperature in the semi-urban area. The coefficient of divergence (COD) and Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC) methods were applied to determine the similarities and differences between the pollutant concentrations and sources of the two areas and the temporal variation. According to these two methods, PCB concentrations and emission sources in honeybee and pollen samples in urban and semi-urban areas were generally different in May and June, and similar in August and September.

Organic contamination of Italian and Tunisian culinary herbs and spices

Contaminants belonging to various classes, as polychlorobiphenyls, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, organochlorine pesticides, organophosphorous pesticides, pyrethroid insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, synergists, carbamates, acaricides and insect growth regulators were simultaneously analysed by GC-MS/MS in 118 Italian and Tunisian culinary herbs and spices. The results obtained in Italian samples shown that laurel samples were the most contaminated with the presence of 15 residues on 140, whereas in rosemary (max value of 35 ng/g for cis-chlorfenyvinphos) and oregano (max value of 118.16 ng/g for ethion) some occasional residues can be observed, but always lower than the maximum residue levels; all the others samples shown no contamination. Among Tunisian samples, only rosemary contains a notably high content of pollutants exceeded the EU maximum residue limits (i.e., alachlor and phosalone with level of 359.2 and 43.3 ng/g, respectively), while oregano was determined to be free of contaminant residues. Considering the comparison among the different organic pollutants in Italian and Tunisian spices and herbs evaluated and the differences observed in this study a harmonization of regulation on contaminant residues in herbs and spices for human consumption should be needed, considering their increased use in diet and cooking.

Characterization of Sicilian Honeys Pollen Profiles Using a Commercial E-Tongue and Melissopalynological Analysis for Rapid Screening: A Pilot Study

Honey is usually classified as "unifloral" or "multifloral", depending on whether a dominating pollen grain, originating from only one particular plant, or no dominant pollen type in the sample is found. Unifloral honeys are usually more expensive and appreciated than multifloral honeys, which highlights the importance of honey authenticity. Melissopalynological analysis is used to identify the botanical origin of honey, counting down the number of pollens grains of a honey sample, and calculating the respective percentages of the nectariferous pollens. In addition, sensory properties are also very important for honey characterization, and electronic senses emerged as useful tools for honey authentication. In this work, a comparison of the results obtained from melissopalynological analysis with those provided by a potentiometric electronic tongue is given, resulting in a 100% match between the two techniques.