Contamination of honey by pesticides is making the news. A recent report reveals that researchers who tested honey from nearly 200 sites worldwide found that 75% of their samples contained some level of the pesticides, according to a report published on 5 October in Nature
“The study is the first attempt to quantify the presence of neonicotinoids in honey on a global scale using standardized methods. Nearly half of the samples tested contained levels of neonicotinoids at least as high as those thought, on the basis of previous research, to impair bees’ brain function and slow the growth of their colonies. The study also found that 45% of the samples contained two or more types of this class of pesticide.
“ ‘It’s not a surprise, in a sense, that we find neonicotinoids in honey. Anybody could have guessed that,’ says lead author Edward Mitchell, a biologist at the University of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. ‘What’s original is using the same protocol. We now have a worldwide map of the situation.’
“The research provides additional context for the long-running debate over whether and how neonicotinoids affect bees’ health. Some studies have suggested that exposure to neonicotinoids lowers honey bees’ nutritional status and impairs their immunity. And in June, a paper published in Science reported that neonicotinoids lower honey bees’ chances of survival during the winter, and threaten the queen in particular, which can affect reproduction.
“To assess the scale of honey bees’ exposure to neonicotinoids around the world, the authors of the new study collected honey from 198 sites on six continents through a citizen-science project. Then they tested those samples to determine the concentrations of five of the most commonly used neonicotinoids. Honey collected in North America had the highest proportion of samples containing at least one neonicotinoid, at 86%, with Asia (80%) and Europe (79%) close behind.
“The extent of the contamination, even in honey from remote places — including islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and off the coast of West Africa — is surprising, says Amro Zayed, an insect researcher at York University in Toronto, Canada. The findings suggest that bees the world over are exposed to neonicotinoids constantly over generations, he says, which is worrying because the insects depend so heavily on honey for food. ‘It’s one thing to go out to a restaurant and get a bad meal, but if you have your fridge at home contaminated with insecticides, that’s an entirely different method of exposure,’ Zayed says.
“Others say that the widespread presence of neonicotinoids in honey is to be expected, given how commonly the chemicals are used in staple crops such as canola and wheat, as well as in home gardens. ‘Yes, there is going to be long-term exposure, potentially, to neonics, but that doesn’t say anything about the risk,’ says Chris Cutler, an entomologist at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada. ‘Just because it’s there doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a problem.’ ”
And on the heels of this, comes the following information: “Last fall, the U.S. Organic Consumers Association and Beyond Pesticides filed a lawsuit against Sue Bee Honey of Sioux City, Iowa, because its honey tested positive for traces of glyphosate. The lawsuit said Sue Bee’s labeling, advertising its honey as ‘Pure’ and ‘Natural,’ is false and misleading.
“Paul Gregory, a beekeeper from Fisher Branch, Man., said glyphosate and the lawsuit were hot topics in Texas this January at the North American Beekeeping conference. ‘Something like 80 percent of American honey tested had levels of glyphosate.’
“Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, may have contaminated the honey because bees forage on corn and soybeans. Those crops are sprayed with the herbicide during the growing season.
“A report by U.S. Right to Know, a proponent of labelling genetically modified food, said U.S. Food and Drug Administration scientists tested American honey in the last year and found glyphosate levels of 20 to 100 parts per billion and higher.
“Samples of Sue Bee honey had glyphosate residues of 41 p.p.b. The European Union has a tolerance level of 50 p.p.b. in honey.
“The levels are worrisome because glyphosate has been highly controversial since March of 2015, when the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a division of the World Health Organization, said the herbicide is probably carcinogenic to humans.”
The conclusion here is the same as with the previous report on insecticides. It’s no surprise to find glyphosate in honey, given how widespread the use. But that doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a problem.
There is simply no pat answer to how “problematic” insecticides and glyphosate found in honey are for either honey bees or humans. However, there’s plenty of guessing, and in our current informational environment, a lot of hype and some of what must be considered “fake news,” about the issue. One loyal reader sent me a link penned by the “Risk Monger,” which seeks to take a deeper dive into the glyphosate situation.
One thing we can say for sure, however. The presence of these substances, even in small amounts, could affect what we now consider as the “organic,” designation, not to mention the suit above, which targets the terms “pure” and “natural” on the honey label. What’s a beekeeper selling honey at a local farmers market to do? This was broached in a recent letter in American Bee Journal (November 2017). The writer encouraged publication of an article on “organic apiculture,” focusing on informing readers what they can, cannot and must do if selling any product labeled with the word “organic.” Meanwhile, The “Risk Monger” wonders if the “organic” label is nothing more than a marketing concept that might backfire in the long run.”
A broadcast featuring the Genetic Literacy Project provides a wider scope of the issues surrounding chemicals in the food supply.
A comment from Peter Bray, Airborne Honey in New Zealand (3-5-2019)
Hi Malcolm,
“The item that caught my eye was the snippet on glyphosate. We have been testing for it here since the first research showed up with it in honey at up to 163ppb. The article from the Risk Monger was a good read even though I had come across this information from another source some time ago and seen the folly of the anti science brigade.
“On another angle here in NZ the ADI for glyphosate is 0.5 mg/kg of bodyweight per day. So an average 70kg individual would have to eat 215 kgs of the “high” level of 163ppb – 3 times their body weight of honey per day – to reach the ADI.
“In the EU the ADI is 0.3mg/kg and US 1.75mg/kg thus asking for consumers to consume 1.8 and 1`0 times their bodyweight of the highest recorded level found in the study.
“But it seems we are embroiled in a ideological fight where facts are unimportant and the environment suffers from taking more land for food production because the latest technology is decried by the luddites as ‘harmful’.
“Strange World indeed. The end of the age of enlightenment??”
Added 4/22/2019: Dear IFAS Extension and Pesticide Exam Administrators,
There is a significant amount of media coverage concerning the health effects of glyphosate. There are currently two cases where a jury has awarded millions to plaintiffs relative to glyphosate exposure. However, as IFAS is a science based organization, it is important that we understand the risk associated with glyphosate, not just the media coverage.
At the end of this paragraph is a link to a summary of reports from 14 different agencies spanning 12 countries. I think it is important to read excerpts from these reports to better understand what all these different independent regulatory bodies have concluded about glyphosate. Currently, only one organization, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has concluded that glyphosate should be classified as a Group 2A: Probably Carcinogenic to Humans. No other reviewing organization in the world have reached this conclusion. The University of Florida/IFAS has seen fit to publish a webinar on this issue
A proposed interrum registration review of glyphosphate has just been published (April 2019). It contains updated information on the material as a carcinogen along with comments about other aspects of this material.
Added 10/28/2019: The sheer amount of glyphosphate in the environment appears to pose a pan-species threat for several reasons, especially the honey bee and perhaps the human gut as reported in this post.
