Antibiotic residues in honey samples collected within one year period in AP Vojvodina, Serbia

Abstract

The illegal use of antibiotics in honey production has recently been focused and the presence of antibiotic residues in honey is a critical parameter for its quality as it affects the safety of honey for human population. The need for simple test methods for determination of the presence of antibiotic residues in honey certainly exists. A modified method 4 plates that was primarily developed for detection of antibiotic residues in food was qualitatively applied for the screening of the residues of antibiotics in honey. The test is rapid, simple and cheap. In the present study, the investigations of the presence of antibiotic residues in honey result in 2.59% positive findings, i.e. in 5 of 193 examined honey samples collected from the territory of Vojvodina. Rapid analysis of the presence of antibiotic residues in honey certainly plays an important role in determining the overall safety of honey and final assessment of its usability.