Elevated Metal Levels in U.S. Honeys: Is There a Concern for Human Health?

Details

• Personal Author:
  Hoffert A ; Specht AJ ; Wise JP Jr. ; Wise JTF ; Wise RM
• Description:
  Honey is a bioactive food used for millennia to improve health and treat diseases. More recently, researchers employ honey as a tool to assess local environmental pollution. Honeybees effectively 'sample' their environment within a approx. 7 km radius, actively collecting nectar, pollen, and water to bring to their hive. Foraging honeybees also sample the air as dust particles accumulate on their pubescence, adding to the hive's contaminant load. Many studies from around the world report elevated metal levels in honey, with the most reports from Iran, Italy, and Turkey, but only two reports have measured metal levels in honey from the United States (U.S.). We report levels of 20 metals from 28 honeys collected from 15 U.S. states between 2022-2023. We then focus on four toxic metals recognized as hazards in foodstuffs when the concentrations are above safety recommendations - lead, cadmium, arsenic, and mercury. Two of these metals (lead and mercury) are regulated in honey by the European Union (EU), though the U.S. currently lacks defined regulations for metal levels in honey. We consider the levels of these toxic metals by state, then compare the U.S. mean honey level for these metals against the provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI). Our results suggest U.S. honey have levels metal that exceed the PWTI and EU regulations and may be hazardous to human health. Further research is needed to determine if the effects of these toxic metal at measured levels outweigh the health benefits from consumption of honey. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Environmental Exposure Environmental Pollution Metals Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Honey Environmental Contamination Environmental Health Environmental Pollution Food Food Safety Honeybees Metal Pollution One Environmental Health Trace Metals United States

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• ISSN:
  0163-4984
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Birmingham Region [OSHA] ; Chicago Region [OSHA] ; Dallas Region [OSHA] ; Indiana ; Kentucky ; Louisiana ; New Mexico
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  203
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20069882
• Citation:
  Biol Trace Elem Res 2025 Apr; 203(4):1789-1797
• Contact Point Address:
  John P. Wise Jr., Department of Pediatrics, Pediatrics Research Institute, University of Louisville, 570 S. Preston Street, Baxter I Building, Rm: 204F, Louisville, KY, 40202
• Email:
  john.wise.1@louisville.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2025
• Performing Organization:
  Purdue University
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20210901
• Source Full Name:
  Biological Trace Element Research
• End Date:
  20220731
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:23110a291a47c353f521acf286195c8d7d7f470fee918dba7a9fa8631668fefbde8e00a9a2902a587f6504ba94c607b7f31a2f0c0b047e7c4a9dd5ab775bf275
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/208220/cdc_208220_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.06 MB ]