Each jar of honey contains the flavor of the local environment. The sticky, sweet flavor of honey is formed by the flowers that nearby bees choose to sample. However, a new study from Tulane University finds that honey can also shed light on local pollution.
The study, published in Environmental Pollution, analyzed 260 honey samples from 48 US states to detect levels of six toxic metals: arsenic, lead, cadmium, nickel, chromium and cobalt. At a typical consumption of one tablespoon per day, none of the samples contained unsafe amounts of these metals, and U.S. concentrations were generally lower than the global average. Still, the researchers found regional differences in the distribution of toxic metals: The highest levels of arsenic were detected in honey from several Pacific Northwest states (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 lead levels were found in samples from the Carolinas.
This study highlights honey's potential dual role as a food source and an environmental pollution monitoring tool.
"Bees act like passive samplers, picking up contaminants from the air, water and plants as they forage. These contaminants end up in the honey, giving us a snapshot of environmental pollution in an area," said lead author Tewodros Godbaugh, assistant professor of environmental health sciences at Tulane University's Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.
The study was the first to test honey from across the country for toxic metal levels and used only single-source honey labeled with its origin.
Researchers can only speculate on the causes of pollution trends. High arsenic levels found in Washington state (170 micrograms/kg), Oregon (130 micrograms/kg) and Idaho (47.8 micrograms/kg) may be related to historical agricultural pesticide use or industrial pollution sources. Honey from North and South Carolina contained higher levels of lead, 451 micrograms per kilogram and 76.8 micrograms per kilogram, respectively, which may be caused by mining, leftover leaded gasoline and paint contaminating the soil, or burning leaded aircraft fuel.
Further research is needed to clearly link the contamination found in honey to its source. Godber said he hopes the findings will spur further research into the sources of toxic metal contaminants, adding: "There may be more of these metals in the environment than shown in bee honey."
"What we found is that this seems to be a good surrogate for revealing regional pollution patterns, but we can also learn a lot from bees about what pollutants are present in the environment and how those pollutants are related to health outcomes in nearby communities."
Compiled from /ScitechDaily
DOI:10.1016/j.envpol.2024.125221