Honey is the world’s third most adulterated food. The addition of cane sugar or corn syrup and the mislabelling of geographic origin are common fraudulent practices in honey markets. This study examined 100 honey samples from Australia (mainland and Tasmania) along with 18 other countries covering Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania. Carbon isotopic analyses of honey and protein showed that 27% of commercial honey samples tested were of questionable authenticity. The remaining 69 authentic samples were subject to trace element analysis for geographic determination. One-way ANOVA analysis showed a statistical difference (p < 0.05) in trace element concentrations of honey from Australian regions and different continents. Principal component analysis (PCA) and canonical discriminant analysis (CDA) coupled with C5.0 classification modelling of honey carbon isotopes and trace element concentrations showed distinct clusters according to their geographic origin. The C5.0 model revealed trace elements Sr, P, Mn and K can be used to differentiate honey according to its geographic origin. The findings show the common and prevalent issues of honey authenticity and the mislabelling of its geographic origin can be identified using a combination of stable carbon isotopes and trace element concentrations.
Trace element concentrations (As, Mn, Pb, and Zn) and Pb isotopic compositions were analyzed in honey bees, wax, and honey along with co-located soil and dust samples from Sydney metropolitan and Broken Hill, Australia. Compared with the other trace elements, Pearson correlations show that Pb concentrations in soil and dust had the strongest relationship to corresponding values in honey bees and their products. Dust Pb was not only highly correlated to corresponding soil values (r = 0.806, p = 0.005), it was the strongest predictor of Pb concentrations in honey bees, wax, and honey (p = 0.001, 0.007, 0.017, respectively). Lead isotopic compositions ( 206 Pb/ 207 Pb and 208 Pb/ 207 Pb) showed that honey bees and their products from Broken Hill were nearly identical (95−98%) to the composition of the local ore body. Samples of honey bees and their products collected from background sites adjacent to national parks in Sydney had Pb isotopic compositions ( 206 Pb/ 207 Pb = 1.138−1.159, 208 Pb/ 207 Pb = 2.417−2.435) corresponding to local geogenic values ( 206 Pb/ 207 Pb = 1.123−1.176, 208 Pb/ 207 Pb = 2.413−2.500). By contrast, honey bees and their products from Sydney metropolitan ( 206 Pb/ 207 Pb = 1.081−1.126, 208 Pb/ 207 Pb = 2.352−2.408) were similar to aerosols measured during the period of leaded petrol use ( 206 Pb/ 207 Pb = 1.067−1.148, 208 Pb/ 207 Pb = 2.341−2.410). These measurements show Pb concentrations and its isotopic compositions of honey bees, and their products can be used to trace both legacy and contemporary environmental contamination, particularly where sources are well documented. Moreover, this study demonstrates that legacy Pb emissions continue to be remobilized in dust, contaminating both food and ecological systems.
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