Pesticide Analysis of Bee and Bee Product Samples

Abstract

Bee products possess therapeutic properties and are the source of many essential trace elements, which is why they are regarded as valuable food products. Honey bees may bring to the hive numerous contaminants deposited on the plants they visit, including pesticide without xenobiotics. The large-scale application of pesticides in agriculture and horticulture can lead to mass mortality among bees, and the chemicals find their way into bee products. The presence of xenobiotics in these products can lower their quality and cause their properties to deteriorate, which in consequence may endanger human health. All this means that the analysis of bees, honey and other bee products is becoming a matter of increasing urgency. In this context new analytical methodologies are needed, enabling a wide spectrum of analytes to be assayed in a single sample and during one analytical run. Attention is focused on new techniques of sample preparation and extract cleanup prior to the final determination step. Besides characterizing the honey bee and bee products, the article analyzes the literature data on the latest methodological developments for determining levels of a wide range of pesticides.

Keywords:

• honey bee
• bee products
• pesticides
• sample preparation
• multiresidue methods
• analytical procedures