You may recall that scientific testing has previously detected glyphosate, the primary active ingredient in RoundUp weedkiller, in honey. Now, new testing methods have revealed yet another commonly used insecticide present in honey: Pyrethroids. Neurotoxic pyrethroids are one of two main groups of pesticides that contribute to colony collapse disorder in bees, a phenomenon where worker honeybees disappear, leaving the queen and other members of the hive to die. This is not only devastating for honeybees, it is also bad news for anyone who likes to eat because agricultural producers worldwide rely on honeybees to pollinate a substantial amount of food crops. While there has been no research as yet to measure the cumulative effect on human health of consuming honey containing pyrethroids, of the honey products researchers tested that contained the pesticide, all were at allowable levels according to Canadian standards. Stay tuned for future research on this topic.
Journal Reference: João Raul Belinato, Jonathan J. Grandy, Abir Khaled, Paola Alejandra Ortiz Suarez, Janusz Pawliszyn. Overcoming matrix effects in the analysis of pyrethroids in honey by a fully automated direct immersion solid-phase microextraction method using a matrix-compatible fiber. Food Chemistry, 2021; 340: 128127 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2020.128127
Chemical Free Life 