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Underexplored food safety hazards of beekeeping products: Key knowledge gaps and suggestions for future research
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This review examines underexplored food safety risks in bee products like honey, royal jelly, and propolis, including contamination from microplastics and other environmental pollutants. Bees can pick up microplastics from the environment during foraging, transferring them into hive products that humans consume. The authors highlight that while pesticides and heavy metals in honey are well studied, microplastic contamination in beekeeping products needs more attention.
These days, a growing consumer demand and scientific interest can be observed for nutraceuticals of natural origin, including apiculture products. Due to the growing emphasis on environmental protection, extensive research has been conducted on the pesticide and heavy metal contamination of bee products; however, less attention is devoted on other food safety aspects. In our review, scientific information on the less-researched food safety hazards of honey, bee bread, royal jelly, propolis, and beeswax are summarized. Bee products originating from certain plants may inherently contain phytotoxins, like pyrrolizidine alkaloids, tropane alkaloids, matrine alkaloids, grayanotoxins, gelsemium alkaloids, or tutin. Several case studies evidence that bee products can induce allergic responses to sensitive individuals, varying from mild to severe symptoms, including the potentially lethal anaphylaxis. Exposure to high temperature or long storage may lead to the formation of the potentially toxic 5-hydroxymethylfurfural. Persistent organic pollutants, radionuclides, and microplastics can potentially be transferred to bee products from contaminated environmental sources. And lastly, inappropriate beekeeping practices can lead to the contamination of beekeeping products with harmful microorganisms and mycotoxins. Our review demonstrates the necessity of applying good beekeeping practices in order to protect honeybees and consumers of their products. An important aim of our work is to identify key knowledge gaps regarding the food safety of apiculture products.
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Microplastics comprehensive review: Impact on honey bee, occurrence in honey and health risk evaluation
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This systematic review examines how microplastics contaminate honey through bees and their environment. The findings show that bees accumulate microplastics from polluted air, water, and soil, which can then end up in honey — a product many people consume for its health benefits.
Microplastics incorporated by honeybees from food are transferred to honey, wax and larvae
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Researchers found that when honeybees consume food contaminated with microplastics, the particles are transferred to honey, beeswax, and developing larvae inside the hive. Chronic exposure did not significantly affect colony growth, but the presence of microplastics in honey means humans may be ingesting them through this food source. This study reveals another pathway by which microplastics can enter the human diet through contaminated bee products.
Honeybees as sentinels of microplastic pollution: a meta-analysis of accumulation, toxicity, and biomonitoring potential
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This review pulled together findings from 139 studies showing that honeybees pick up microplastics (tiny plastic bits) from the environment, and these particles can end up in honey, pollen, and wax, products many people eat or use daily. Because bees fly over large areas and are sensitive to pollution, scientists suggest using them as living "pollution detectors" to track microplastic contamination in the environment, which could also signal risks to the food we eat and the crops bees pollinate. More research is still needed to understand exactly how harmful long-term microplastic exposure is to bees and, by extension, to us.
Are Honey Bees at Risk from Microplastics?
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This review examines whether microplastics pose a risk to honey bee populations, noting that microplastics have been detected in honey samples and on bees collected from both urban and rural areas. Researchers found that exposure to certain polymer types may affect bee health, and the study calls for more research to understand the risks of microplastic exposure to pollinators and the broader implications for ecosystem health.
The Presence of Microplastics in Honey
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This review summarizes existing research on microplastics found in honey. It reports that bees can carry microplastics from air, soil, water, pollen, and nectar into hives, and that beekeeping equipment and packaging can also add contamination.
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