Occurrence of antibiotic residues in Apulian honey: potential risk of environmental pollution by antibiotics

Alessandra Emilia Savarino; Valentina Terio; Roberta Barrasso; Edmondo Ceci; Sara Panseri; Luca Maria Chiesa; Elisabetta Bonerba

doi:10.4081/ijfs.2020.8678

Occurrence of antibiotic residues in Apulian honey: potential risk of environmental pollution by antibiotics

Ital J Food Saf. 2020 Apr 1;9(1):8678. doi: 10.4081/ijfs.2020.8678. eCollection 2020 Mar 31.

Authors

Alessandra Emilia Savarino¹, Valentina Terio¹, Roberta Barrasso¹, Edmondo Ceci¹, Sara Panseri², Luca Maria Chiesa², Elisabetta Bonerba¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari.
² Department of Health, Animal Science and Food Safety, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.

Abstract

The presence of antibiotic residues in honey is widely documented and is attributed almost exclusively to improper beekeeping practices, due to the frequent use of drugs for the treatment of beehive diseases. Therefore, the aim of our research was to evaluate the presence of antibiotics in honeycomb using the Anti-Microbial Array II (AM II) and IV (AM IV) method and to assess the relationship between environmental context and antibiotic residues in honey. The results show the presence of antibiotic residues in 26/50 honey from brood nests samples, confirming the impact of environmental contamination on the health quality of this food product. In addition, subsequent analyses conducted on positive samples reveal the instability over time of antimicrobial molecules in honey. These results highlight the need for further studies in order to understand all likely sources of contamination and to implement a comprehensive safety management plan for honey.

Keywords: Antibiotic residues; environmental pollution; honey; multi-array.

Grants and funding

Funding: This research was financially supported by Regione Puglia (Department of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment - Section of competitiveness of food supply chains): Research and Experimentation Project in Agriculture “Ape e Ambiente: Biomonitoraggio e Valorizzazione dei Prodotti dell’alveare Pugliesi” (AP.A.Bi.Va.P.P.) (Cod PSR_115); Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013, financing of aid applications 2018.