Antimicrobial drugs, pesticides and PAHS in honey

Abstract

Honey is a very popular food that is oft en consumed by immunocompromised people, so it is crucial that it is safe. Th e safety of honey is related to numerous hazards, especially the chemical ones like residues of sulfonamides, lindane and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Honey from our country contains high concentrations of banned antimicrobial substances such as sulfonamides (3.9% of samples). Th e 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 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. Th e 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 fi eld of risk assessment.