HEAVY METALS IN THAI HONEY
Keywords:
Contamination, food, heavy metal, honey, ThailandAbstract
This study was to determine heavy metal contents in 57 Thai honey, samples from different botanical origins and regions of Thailand using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The results showed that the levels of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni) and lead (Pb) in the honey samples were <0.006-0.075 mg/kg, <0.001-0.015 mg/kg, 0.009-0.489 mg/kg, 0.025-30.349 mg/kg and 0.005-0.215 mg/kg, respectively. The average Ni level was significantly higher than the levels of the other heavy metals in different honey sources (p<0.05). The Pb concentration in the longan honey from Chiang Mai Province was the only heavy metal that was significantly higher than the longan honey from Lamphun Province (p<0.05). The honey from the northern Thailand had significantly higher heavy metal contents than other regions (p<0.05). The levels of heavy metals in Thai honey were all below the Thai food containing contaminants standard, as well as the EU and Codex Alimentarius standards. It was concluded that the Thai honeys are a safe food for consumption.
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