| Title: | Pesticide contamination in apicultural products : an updated and comprehensive review of analytical methods, occurrence, and safety concerns |
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| Authors: | ID Fuente-Ballesteros, Adrián (Author)
ID Smerkol, Maj, Institut "Jožef Stefan" (Author)
ID Gradišek, Anton, Institut "Jožef Stefan" (Author)
ID Sarmento, Artur Miguel Paiva (Author)
ID Pugajeva, Iveta (Author), et al. |
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| Files: |  URL - Source URL, visit https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221415882600005X
 PDF - Presentation file, download (3,99 MB)
MD5: D8EB17864A6D2FDC0DF8D6A3BF1C70F3
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| Language: | English |
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| Typology: | 1.01 - Original Scientific Article |
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| Organization: |  IJS - Jožef Stefan Institute
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| Abstract: | Honeybees and their products integrate landscape-level chemical exposure, making apicultural matrices valuable bioindicators for both food safety and environmental monitoring. This review summarizes current knowledge on pesticide residues in honey, pollen, beebread, beeswax, royal jelly, and propolis from 2019 to 2024, with an overview of analytical methodologies used in their determination. Multi-residue methods remain dominated by Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe (QuEChERS) extraction combined with liquid and gas chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry, while high-resolution MS enables broader screening. Highly polar pesticides, particularly glyphosate and its metabolites, require specialised single-residue approaches, such as the Quick Polar Pesticides (QuPPe) method and ion chromatography–high-resolution mass spectrometry (IC-HRMS). Co-occurrence patterns frequently involve mixtures of neonicotinoids, acaricides, and fungicides, reflecting combined agricultural and in-hive treatments. Regarding matrices, honey typically shows insecticide and acaricide residues, pollen concentrates fungicides and insecticides as the main exposure route, and beeswax acts as a long-term sink for lipophilic compounds; royal jelly generally exhibits the lowest contamination levels. Although exceedances of Maximum Residue Limits in honey remain uncommon in European monitoring programs, the presence of pesticide mixtures and limited residue data for bee-related products beyond honey raise concern. Future research should prioritize harmonized residue limits for all beekeeping matrices, standardized quality control and reporting practices, targeted mixture-toxicity assessment under realistic co-exposure scenarios, and the broader adoption of green, miniaturized, and matrix-tailored sample preparation strategies to enhance sensitivity, sustainability, and comparability across studies. |
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| Keywords: | apicultural products, honey, pesticides residues, analytical methods, mass spectrometry, food safety, environmental monitoring, plant protection products |
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| Publication status: | Published |
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| Publication version: | Version of Record |
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| Submitted for review: | 16.11.2025 |
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| Article acceptance date: | 09.02.2026 |
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| Publication date: | 10.02.2026 |
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| Publisher: | Elsevier |
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| Year of publishing: | 2026 |
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| Number of pages: | str. 1-14 |
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| Numbering: | Vol. 49, [article no.] e00300 |
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| Source: | Nizozemska |
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| PID: | 20.500.12556/DiRROS-27751  |
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| UDC: | 638 |
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| ISSN on article: | 2214-1588 |
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| DOI: | 10.1016/j.teac.2026.e00300 |
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| COBISS.SI-ID: | 268744195 |
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| Copyright: | © 2026 The Author(s). |
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| Note: | Nasl. z nasl. zaslona;
Opis vira z dne 17. 2. 2026;
Soavtorja iz Slovenije: Maj Smerkol, Anton Gradišek;
Št. članka: e00300;
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| Publication date in DiRROS: | 24.02.2026 |
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| Views: | 178 |
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| Downloads: | 56 |
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