New study shows honey can help detect nearby pollution

A new study conducted at Tulane University (USA) has shown that honey has more than just a sticky sweet taste that is enhanced by the flowers that bees decided to try nearby. It can also provide insight into environmental pollution.

Scientists tested 260 honey samples from 48 states for traces of six toxic metals: arsenic, lead, cadmium, nickel, chromium, and cobalt. None of the samples showed dangerous levels, but scientists found regional differences in their distribution, according to a study published on Science Direct.

The highest levels of arsenic were found in honey from a group of states in the Pacific Northwest (Oregon, Idaho, Washington and Nevada). The highest levels of cobalt were found in the Southeast, including Louisiana and Mississippi, and two of the three highest levels of lead were found in the Carolinas. However, all of these are within the permissible limits based on a serving size of one tablespoon per day, and concentrations in the United States are lower than global averages.

Overall, the study emphasizes the potential dual role of honey as a food source and a tool for monitoring environmental pollution.

"Bees act as passive samplers, picking up contaminants from the air, water and plants while foraging. These contaminants end up in honey, offering us a snapshot of an area's environmental pollution," said lead author Tewodros Godebo, an assistant professor of environmental health at the Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at Tulane University.

This is the first study to test honey from across the country for toxic metals and to use honey from only one source that discloses its origin.

At this point, researchers can only speculate on the causes of the pollution trends. The high arsenic levels found in Washington (170 µg/kg), Oregon (130 µg/kg), and Idaho (47.8 µg/kg) may indicate contamination from agricultural pesticides or industrial sources. Higher lead levels in honey from North and South Carolina - 451 µg/kg and 76.8 µg/kg, respectively - may be caused by mining, soil contaminated with old traces of leaded gasoline and paint, or the burning of lead-based jet fuel.

Further research into the sources of the toxic metal contaminants is needed to definitively link the contaminants found in the honey to their sources.

"Bees act as passive samplers, pickinWhat we found is that this appears to serve as a good proxy for uncovering regional contamination patterns. But there's a lot we may still learn from bees about what pollutants are present in the environment and how those relate to nearby community health outcomes," Tevodros Godebo explained.

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