BackgroundHoney contains a complex mixture of carbohydrates and other minor substances. Elements are minor constituents of honey that may threaten the human health in excess concentrations. So, determining the metals in honey helps its quality control as a food product. The aim of this study was to determine the concentrations of some metals in Iranian honey.MethodsThis study was performed in four regions of Ardabil, a province of Iran. Honey samples (n = 25) were digested in microwave oven by nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide, then analyzed using inductively coupled plasma– optic emission spectrophotometry (ICP-OES).ResultsNo significant differences were observed in cadmium, zinc, nickel, and chromium levels between regions (P > 0.05). Zinc was the most abundant metal in honey samples (1481.64 μg/kg). Some metals had higher concentrations in the East region because of existence more industries there. The highest mean of lead level was 935.48 μg/kg in the East and the lowest was 205.4 μg/kg in the South region. The concentrations of metals were compared with recommended limits for foods. Some of them were higher than standard levels (lead) and some were lower than those (cadmium).ConclusionsMetals are released into the environment through their use in industrial processes and enter the food chain from uptake by plants from contaminated soil or water. Metals concentration in various places depends on many variables, leading to their different concentrations in honey. Some control measures like the quality control of food products, monitoring the soil in agricultural regions and limiting the use of fertilizers are recommended.

By definition, "aflaxions" refer to a group of chemically toxic fungal metabolites, which are generated by specific species of genus Aspergillus. The species flourish on some of raw foods. This research is an attempt to assess aflatoxin contamination in nuts (Fig, Almond

Milk is very susceptible for growth and development of many microorganisms because it is rich in nutrients and has suitable condition. Thus, it is very vital to respect sanitary conditions at all stages of production and transport of raw milk. The objective of the present investigation was to determine the total bacterial, and acidity in raw milk from milk collection centers in Malayer and Nahavand cities. 52 milk samples were collected from 13 centers in summer 2012 and were analyzed according to standard methods. None of the raw milk samples under investigation, had superior or grade 1 quality. Only 7.7% of the samples were classified as raw milk with grade 2 quality and 92.3% were non-standard. The mean of microbial total count in base was 3.8 × 10 7 CFU/ml and average acidity in the samples was 0.163. The city of Tochqhaz and Aliabad-e-Damagh has the * Corresponding author.M. Rezaei et al. 2185 lowest and the highest microbial total count. In general the result of this study showed unsatisfactory conditions of milk in the milk collection centers of the Malayer and Nahavand cities.