Pesticides and Trace Element Residues in Honey from Northern Croatia

The rapid translocation of pesticide and metal residues in the environment and their entry into the food chain pose a significant risk to human health. Given the high global consumption of honey, quality control emphasizes the need for continuous monitoring and risk assessment. To evaluate contamination levels in honey from northern Croatia, a region with intensive agricultural land use, 38 comb honey and 22 extracted honey samples were collected by purposive one-time sampling in June 2023. These samples were analyzed for 190 pesticides using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS), and for 17 trace metal(loid)s using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The highest detection frequencies were observed for fipronil-sulfone, trifloxystrobin, and coumaphos in comb honey, and for N-(2,4-dimethylphenyl)-formamide (DMF) and N-(2,4-dimethylphenyl)-N'-methylformamidine (DPMF) in extracted honey. Glyphosate was the only pesticide to exceed the European Union (EU) maximum residue level (MRL) of 0.05 mg/kg in three honey samples. Elemental analysis quantified most target metals, with aluminum (Al), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni) and zinc (Zn) being the most abundant, while silver (Ag), arsenic (As), and selenium (Se) were not detected in this study. None of the samples contained lead (Pb) above the regulatory limit for honey established in the EU (0.1 mg/kg). To ensure food safety, further efforts are required to assess the health risks associated with exposure to these contaminants through consumption of the evaluated food.