Formation of Hydroxymethylfurfural in Domestic High-Fructose Corn Syrup and Its Toxicity to the Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)

Abstract

In the United States, high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has become a sucrose replacement for honey bees and has widespread use as a sweetener in many processed foods and beverages for human consumption. It is utilized by commercial beekeepers as a food for honey bees for several reasons: to promote brood production, after bees have been moved for commercial pollination, and when field-gathered nectar sources are scarce. Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is a heat-formed contaminant and is the most noted toxin to honey bees. Currently, there are no rapid field tests that would alert beekeepers of dangerous levels of HMF in HFCS or honey. In this study, the initial levels and the rates of formation of HMF at four temperatures were evaluated in U.S.-available HFCS samples. Different HFCS brands were analyzed and compared for acidity and metal ions by inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy. Levels of HMF in eight HFCS products were evaluated over 35 days, and the data were fit to polynomial and exponential equations, with excellent correlations. The data can be used by beekeepers to predict HMF formation on storage. Caged bee studies were conducted to evaluate the HMF dose-response effect on bee mortality. Finally, commercial bases such as lime, potash, and caustic soda were added to neutralize hydronium ion in HMF samples, and the rates of HMF formation were compared at 45 degrees C.

Suitability of Starch Syrups for Winter Feeding of Honeybee Colonies

“…This concerns negative implications connected to overwintering and spring development in comparison to colonies fed earlier when the end of feeding, in accordance with practical guidelines, is in the middle of September. One of the basic disadvantages of the readyto-use foods used in feeding bees, irrespective of the food type (inverted sucrose, starch) is the content of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, also called HMF, which is harmful for bees (Jachimowicz & El Sherbiny, 1975;LeBlanc et al, 2009). This compound is created in the production process of these foods, and the amount of this compound depends on the temperature and acidity of the environment (Krainer et al, 2016).…”

“…The amount of food provided to bees, is a one-time dose and the time of supplying winter supplementation is an important element of the so-called winter feeding of bee colonies (Pidek, 1985;Severson & Erickson, 1984;Seeley & Visscher, 1985;Pedersen, Pedersen, & Pedersen, 1996;Skubida, 1998). To supply winter food, beekeepers can use sugar syrup, sucrose inverted syrup, starch syrup or high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) (Jachimowicz & El Sherbiny, 1975;Skubida, 1998, von der Ohe & Schönberger, 2002Liebig, 2005;Ceksteryte & Racys, 2006;LeBlanc et al, 2009;Brodschneider & Crailsheim, 2010, Sammataro & Weiss, 2013Krainer at al., 2016). Sugar syrup (a mixture of water and pure sucrose from sugar beets or sugarcane) has been used for many years to feed honeybees (Free & Spencer-Booth, 1961;Barker, 1971;Bobrzecki, 1976;Gromisz, 1985).…”

A Comparative Study of Environmental Conditions, Bee Management and the Epidemiological Situation in Apiaries Varying in the Level of Colony Losses

“…The opinion of the users on which type of syrup is better for bees are differentiate. It is believed that risk of crystallisation and formation of hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) in invert syrups may entail the overwintering mortality of colonies (LeBlanc et al, 2009;Zirbes et al, 2013). Toxic to bees, HMF occurs in bad production batches of invert syrups or when invert has been stored for a long time.…”

The Influence of Corn Syrup Based Solid Food Supplements, During the Inactive (Winter) Season, Upon the Evolution of Major Bacterial Diseases in Bees

“…Supplementary food, based on solid food in the form of cakes containing corn syrup, has become a practice among beekeepers due to its advantages in terms of cost, storage, distribution and transportation. Resulting from corn syrup degradation and from fructose-rich honey degradation is hydroxylmethyl-furfural (HMF), which is toxic for bees and for people (LeBlanc et al, 2009). In bees, the toxicity of hydroxyl-methyl-furfural is manifested in symptoms similar to dysentery, caused by ulceration of the intestinal tract, which triggers significant losses in the bee colonies that are artificially fed with corn syrup (Zirbes et al, 2013), as result of the accumulation of high amounts of HMF (LeBlanc et al, 2009).…”

“…Resulting from corn syrup degradation and from fructose-rich honey degradation is hydroxylmethyl-furfural (HMF), which is toxic for bees and for people (LeBlanc et al, 2009). In bees, the toxicity of hydroxyl-methyl-furfural is manifested in symptoms similar to dysentery, caused by ulceration of the intestinal tract, which triggers significant losses in the bee colonies that are artificially fed with corn syrup (Zirbes et al, 2013), as result of the accumulation of high amounts of HMF (LeBlanc et al, 2009). Largescale use of honey substitutes, including corn syrup, may affect bees' immunity system and its detoxifying capacity (Mussen et al, 2012;Savu et al, 2013).…”