article · Journal of Consumer Protection and Food Safety
An analysis of European Union Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed notifications between 2002 and 2022 assessed the prevalence and types of contaminants reported in honey. Of 388 total notifications recorded over the 21-year period, nearly 80 percent involved unauthorised residues of veterinary medicinal products, followed by smaller shares related to adulteration or fraud, foreign bodies, pesticide residues, and insufficient controls. The most common country of origin was China, followed by Turkey, Ukraine, Argentina, and Bulgaria, while Germany and the United Kingdom led the notifying countries. Across all notifications, over 22 percent triggered alerts and over 12 percent led to border rejections. The most frequently detected substances were antibacterial treatments applied by beekeepers to manage infectious bee diseases, led by chloramphenicol, streptomycin, sulfathiazole, tylosin, and sulfadimidine.
Consumers widely view honey as a pure and healthy product, but beekeeping treatments can introduce harmful chemical residues into the supply chain. Tracking two decades of European safety alerts shows which veterinary drugs most frequently contaminate international shipments. This evidence helps food safety authorities and trade regulators direct border testing resources and implement targeted restrictions to protect consumers.
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Abstract Honey is regarded as natural and healthy. However, a variety of contaminants could be present in the areas of production. The study aimed to identify the top hazard categories in Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) notifications for honey from 2002 to 2022, taking into account the notification year and type, country of origin, notifying country, risk decision, and actions taken. All RASFF notifications were processed in Pivot tables using Microsoft Excel. Out of 388 notifications for honey in the last 21 years 309 (79.64%) concerned the unauthorized residues of veterinary medicinal products hazard category, followed by adulteration/fraud (5.15%), foreign bodies (2.83%), pesticide residues (2.58%), and poor or insufficient controls (2.58%). China was the most frequently notified country of origin (25.77%), followed by Turkey (6.44%), Ukraine (6.19%), Argentina (6.19%), and Bulgaria (5.67%). Germany was the most frequently notifying country (16.49%), followed by the UK (16.24%), Spain (13.40%), Italy (10.82%), and Belgium (7.99%). Among all notifications, 22.68% were alerted and 12.37% were border rejected. The notification frequency (%) and mean concentration ± standard deviation (SD) (μg/kg) of the most frequently reported contaminants in the honey were as follows: chloramphenicol (25.26%, 172.10 ± 827.92 μg/kg), followed by streptomycin (12.11%, 104.94 ± 209.44 μg/kg), sulfathiazole (9.54%, 52.31 ± 52.62 μg/kg), tylosin (4.90%, 9.03 ± 11.23 μg/kg), and sulfadimidine (4.64%, 254.99 ± 587.00 μg/kg), respectively, due to their application by beekeepers to control infectious diseases of bees. Strict restrictions must be put in place to reduce the risk posed by these contaminants in honey.
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DOI: 10.1007/s00003-023-01460-x
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