ANTIMICROBIAL DRUGS, PESTICIDES AND PAHs IN HONEY: Honey safety

Abstract

Honey is a very popular food that is often consumed by immunocompromised people, so it is crucial that it is safe. The safety of honey is determined by numerous hazards- the chemical ones like residues of sulfonamides, lindane and PAHs. Honey from our country contains high concentrations of banned antimicrobial substances such as sulfonamides (3.9% of samples). The frequent presence of lindane in honey is not unexpected considering the fact that this pesticide is present in the soil, plants and animals from Serbia. PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) as a relatively unexplored chemical hazard in honey proved to be widespread in the honey from Serbia- even 6.6% of honey samples contains toxic concentrations of these compounds. The control of chemical hazards and the production of safe honey in Serbia could be improved by implementing better measures to prevent illegal use of antimicrobial drugs, pollution control and further research in the field of risk assessment.