Il mIele è un indicatore dI quaIità ambientale - Environmental pollution: honey as a bioindicator

Many pollutants in the environment may contaminate bee matrices, comprising bee, honey and pollen. The contamination sources can be roughly divided into environmental and apicultural. The article reviewed the literature data about honey contamination, focusing on honey as potential bioindicator of environmental pollution. Contaminants as pesticides (insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, bactericides), veterinary drugs and antibiotics, organic pollutants, heavy metals (cadmium and mercury), radioactive isotopes, and genetically modified organisms, are the most abundant and frequently occurred in honey. EU regulations fixed maximum residue limits only for some pollutants. As exposures to environmental pollution remain a major source of health risk, the introduction of monitoring systems and validation of acceptable minimal concentrations of pollutant residue limits for honey should be considered.