Assessment and Monitoring of Certain Pollutants in Natural Honeys Imported from Different Countries and Marketing in Saudi Arabia

The physicochemical and antimicrobial properties, as well as metals and pesticide residue contents in honeys imported from different countries and marketing in KSA were investigated. The results indicated that the chemical composition of some of these honeys violated the most national and international guidelines. Also, honey samples showed greater antimicrobial activities against all the osmophilic microorganisms especially Aspergillus flavus. Pb and Cd were not detected in all the tested samples, while Cu levels were below the guideline value of 5 mg/kg. However, Zn, Fe, and Ni levels in most the tested samples did not comply with the legislation values of 5, 15, and 0.01-1.00 mg/kg, respectively, and may pose a health risk to consumers. Also, Mn was found in higher levels which can be attributed either to the production stages of honey or the region from where the honey has been taken. Regarding the pesticide residues, some residues were detected in honeys imported from Germany, Australia, and Turkey; however, the hazardous indices for all the detected residues were less than one, indicating that these residues could not pose a health risk. It can be concluded that natural honeys should be free of any objectionable metals and pesticides.