Pesticide Residues Are Low and Safe In Chinese Honey Bee Honey
Source: Institute of Apicultural Research of CAAS
Introduction: Chinese bee is one of the main bee species raised in China. As a native bee species, it is widely distributed. They play an important role in maintaining ecosystem stability and increasing agricultural production. At the same time, a large amount of honey can also be obtained by raising Chinese bees to promote local economic development. This has played an important role in poverty alleviation and rural revitalization.
Recently, institute of Apicultural Research of CAAS investigated the pesticide residues in the bee food and honey of Chinese honeybees. Then, the relevant risk assessment was carried out. The results showed that the detection rate and residual concentration of pesticide residues in the bee food and honey of Chinese honeybee (hereinafter referred to as Chinese bee) were lower than those reported in the foreign literature on western honeybees. Meanwhile, no risk is indicated in the risk assessment results for bees and humans. The related results were published in [Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety][1].
Chinese bee is one of the main bee species raised in my country. As a native bee species, it is widely distributed and plays an important role in maintaining ecosystem stability and increasing agricultural production. At the same time, a large amount of honey can also be obtained by raising Chinese bees to promote local economic development. This has played an important role in poverty alleviation and rural revitalization. Previous studies have shown that pesticide residues in food and the environment that pollinators encounter are an important cause of the decline in the species and numbers of pollinators such as Western honeybees. However, little is known about the pesticide residues in honey and related bee products of Chinese bee.
The study focused on bee food and honey in the Liupanshan area of Shaanxi-Gansu-Ninghuan ring road as the main research objects. The study found that thiamethoxam at the current residual level is safe for bee colonies. At the same time, the risk to human consumers of pesticide residues in honey was also assessed according to the dietary exposure assessment method[1]. The results showed that the detection rate of pesticide residues (25.4% in bee food and 2.8% in honey) and residue concentrations were lower than those reported on Western honeybees in other countries and regions[1]. The study also showed that the pesticide residue levels in Chinese honey were far below its risk warning line and would not pose a risk to consumers.
Secondly, the study also analyzed the reasons for the low detection rate and low residue level of bee products. Researcher believes that it is mainly related to the living and rearing environment of Chinese bees. Generally speaking, Chinese bees are mainly raised in mountainous and semi-mountainous areas where pesticide application is relatively low. However, Western honeybees mainly use pesticide-applied crops as nectar sources (such as rapeseed and sunflower)[2]. In addition, this study provides a theoretical basis for the protection of China Bee and the safety of China Bee products to a certain extent. And provides scientific and technological support for the China Bee industry to play a greater role in rural revitalization.
References:
- [1]. Wang, F., Wang, Y., Li, Y., Zhang, S., Shi, P., Li-Byarlay, H., & Luo, S. (2022).
Pesticide residues in beebread and honey in Apis cerana cerana and their hazards to honey bees and human.
Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 238, 113574. - [2]. Baude, Mathilde, William E Kunin, Nigel D Boatman, Simon Conyers, Nancy Davies, Mark A K Gillespie, R Daniel Morton, Simon M Smart, and Jane Memmott.
“Historical Nectar Assessment Reveals the Fall and Rise of Floral Resources in Britain.”
Nature (London) 530, no. 7588 (2016): 85–88.