Elemental Composition and associated health risk in honey obtained from Apiary Farms in Southeast Nigeria

What is it about?

This study investigated the levels of lead, selenium, arsenic, iron, manganese, copper, zinc, chromium, cadmium and nickel in honey from southeast Nigeria and their potential health risks to consumers using standard protocols. The results showed that the elemental levels in the honey varied relative to the sample source but were all below European commission maximum permissible limits except for lead. Estimated daily intake of the elements via ingestion of the honey studied were all below the maximum permissible limit set by EFSA except for arsenic whose values in some samples slightly exceeded the set limit. The hazard quotient (HQ) for arsenic, hence, hazard index (HI) for the elements pointed towards significant risk (HQ or HI > 1) for children for some of the honey samples studied. Arsenic was the major contributor to incremental lifetime cancer risk (CR) as its estimated value for children in all the honey samples exceeded USEPA threshold limit (CR > 1.0 x 10-4)

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