Analysis of Mercury Concentration in Honey from the Point of View of Human Body Exposure

Abstract

Honey is a highly valued product due to its nutritional value, pro-health and healing properties. Pollutants from the environment penetrate into nectar, honeydew, pollen and next into bee products and can cause human exposure after ingestion. Mercury (Hg) is a toxic metal to living organisms. This is why it was important to determine the level of Hg in consumed honey.The aim of this manuscript is to analyse mercury concentration in honeys collected on the territory of Poland. A total of 108 samples of honey purchased in regional apiaries and hypermarkets were tested. The concentration of Hg was analysed in various types of honey (multifloral, honeydew, linden, goldenrod, acacia, buckwheat, rapeseed, sunflower, heather, dandelion, phacelia). The values of the Estimated Daily Intake (EDI), Estimated Weekly Intake (EWI) and % Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake (% PTWI) were calculated. This allowed estimating the amount of Hg taken during consumption of the tested honeys.The concentration of Hg ranged from 0.01 to 1.71 µg/kg and was 0.43 µg/kg on average. A higher concentration of Hg, which was statistically significant, was recorded in honeydew honey, then in compound honeys. Honeys produced from one raw material had the lowest concentration of Hg. There were no significant differences in the concentration of Hg depending on the origin of honey. The calculations have shown that consumption of a portion (19 g) of the tested honey per week is safe for both adults and children according to the applicable standards.

Mercury in honey from the Marche region (central Italy). Risk assessment from human consumption and its use as bioindicator of environmental pollution

“…This trend was observed by another Polish recent study carried out by Brodziak−Dopierała et al (2021) [ 47 ], which discovered the highest content of Hg in honeydew (1.02 ± 0.49 μg kg −1 ). In both studies, the results associated with monofloral honey were wide−ranging depending on botanical origin, whereas reported average concentrations in multifloral honey of 0.54 ± 0.53 [ 45 ] and 0.31 ± 0.21 μg kg −1 [ 47 ], were slightly higher but consistent with our results (0.2 ± 0.1 μg kg −1 ). In honey from Central Europe, a higher concentration of Hg has been found compared to our samples, up to 315 μg kg −1 in Croatia [ 48 ] and 212 μg kg −1 in a contaminated site in Slovakia [ 49 ].…”

“…Hg content in Italian honey has been investigated also by Quinto et al (2016) [ 33 ], who recorded a mean concentration of 0.19 ± 0.17 μg kg −1 , confirming our results. In a recent research conducted by Fischer et al (2022) [ 45 ] in honey from Poland, the highest Hg concentration was found in honeydew (0.72 ± 0.46 μg kg −1 ), with a result similar to ours (0.6 ± 0.3 μg kg −1 ), and for honey of other botanical origins the level was always below 0.5 μg kg −1 , as in this study (except for ailanthus, slightly higher). This trend was observed by another Polish recent study carried out by Brodziak−Dopierała et al (2021) [ 47 ], which discovered the highest content of Hg in honeydew (1.02 ± 0.49 μg kg −1 ).…”

“…The honey safety was evaluated by comparing the concentrations obtained with the legal values that set limits for this contaminant in the honey matrix. Additionally, the potential non−carcinogenic health risk associated with element exposure through consumption was estimated based on the hazard quotient (HQ) measured by comparing the average daily intake dose (ADD) to the corresponding daily intake reference dose (RfD) (Equation (1) and (2)) [ 44 ]: where C (mg kg −1 ) is the mean concentration of the Hg in honey, IR is the average honey consumption (2.7 g person −1 day −1 ) [ 45 ], BW is the average body weight of an adult (70 kg), and RfD (mg kg −1 day −1 ) is the daily intake reference dose suggested by World Health Organization (Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives) [ 23 ]. An HQ of less than 1 shows no significant risk of non−carcinogenic effects on consumers.…”

Mercury accumulation in honey bees trends upward with urbanization in the USA

“…THg concentrations in our samples are all below WHO standards (Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee, 2011). Compared with previous THg concentrations in bees and bee products, it is unlikely that beekeeping products from North American honey bees pose a risk of Hg to human health (Astolfi et al, 2021;Fischer et al, 2021).…”

Seasonal heavy metal effects on detoxification and antioxidant gene expression in the urban honeybee

“…These authors reported increased As and Hg levels in summer honey samples when compared with winter stores and concluded that heavy metal levels in honey differed significantly by season. Additionally, Fischer et al (2022) and Winiarska‐Mieczan et al (2021) reported statistically higher Hg and Pb concentrations, respectively, in multicomponent honeys when compared with single‐component samples. During the summer months, more plants bloom (Zarić et al 2016), thus more honeybees visit more vegetation types to collect pollen and nectar, suggesting that summer honey sources are more multicomponent and more exposed to environmental pollutants when compared with winter honey.…”