Elemental Composition and Associated Health Risk of Honey Obtained from Apiary Farms in Southeast Nigeria

This study investigated the levels of lead, selenium, arsenic, iron, manganese, copper, zinc, chromium, cadmium, and nickel in honey and their potential health risks to consumers, using standard protocols. The honey samples were obtained from apiary farms at nine different locations in southeast Nig...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of food protection 2020-10, Vol.83 (10), p.1745-1756
Main Authors: Obasi, Nwogo Ajuka, Aloke, Chinyere, Obasi, Stella Eberechukwu, Famurewa, Ademola Clement, Ogbu, Patience Nkemjika, Onyeji, Gertrude Nneka
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Arsenic
Atomic absorption analysis
Cadmium
Cadmium - analysis
Calibration
Cancer
Carcinogens
Chemical composition
Child
Children
Chromium
Environmental protection
Farms
Food safety
Health risk assessment
Health risks
Honey
Humans
Industrial development
Ingestion
Lead
Manganese
Metals, Heavy - analysis
Nickel
Nigeria
Quotients
Risk Assessment
Risk levels
Safety
Selenium
Spectral analysis
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Summary:This study investigated the levels of lead, selenium, arsenic, iron, manganese, copper, zinc, chromium, cadmium, and nickel in honey and their potential health risks to consumers, using standard protocols. The honey samples were obtained from apiary farms at nine different locations in southeast Nigeria. They were digested at optimal conditions and analyzed using a flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Levels of the studied elements in the honey were found to vary relative to the sample source; however, all were below European Commission maximum permissible limits, with the exception of lead, whose level in some samples exceeded the recommended set limit. Estimated daily intakes of the elements via ingestion of the honey were all below the maximum permissible limit set by the European Food Safety Authority, with the exception of arsenic, whose values in some samples slightly exceeded the set limit. For all samples, estimated health risk values for the elements quantified were higher in children than in adults. The hazard quotient for arsenic, hence, the hazard index for the elements, indicated a significant risk (>1) for children for some of the honey samples studied. Arsenic was the major contributor to incremental lifetime cancer risk; its estimated value for children in all the honey samples exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) threshold limit (>1.0 × 10-4); hence, the total cancer risk values for the carcinogenic elements indicated an absolute unacceptable risk level for children based on EPA threshold limit.
ISSN:0362-028X
1944-9097
DOI:10.4315/JFP-20-072