Gajek (2026) characterizes changes in physicochemical parameters and elemental profiles when five Polish honey types are adulterated with four sugar additives at 10% and 50% v/v levels, using ICP-OES on 49 samples. The study’s primary purpose is honey authenticity and adulteration detection. The elemental data for beet molasses and beet/invert syrups are reported as adulterant matrices, not as commercial food products in their own right. Toxic elements (lead, cadmium, and similar safety indicators) were below detection limits in the pure Polish honeys studied.
Key numbers
Toxic elements in pure Polish honeys (p. 8): Potentially toxic elements including silver, barium, cadmium, chromium, molybdenum, lead, antimony, tin, and vanadium were below detection limits in the analyzed pure honey samples (Table S2, Supplementary Materials, as stated in body text). The study does not report detectable concentrations of lead, cadmium, or other safety-indicator metals in pure honey.
Detection limits for trace elements (Table 2 / Section 2.3.1): LOD 0.3 to 24 ug/kg; LOQ 1 to 71 ug/kg (macroelements LOD 0.003 to 0.05 mg/kg, LOQ 0.009 to 0.15 mg/kg). Accuracy verified against TMDA-64 (fortified lake water) and NCS ZC 8100 2b (human hair) reference materials.
Beet molasses elemental profile (adjacent-matrix context, p. 7 to 8): Among the four adulterants tested, beet molasses carried the highest concentrations of all measured macroelements. Cobalt: 0.801 mg/kg (the only adulterant where cobalt was detected; at 50% adulteration, cobalt was detectable in honey-molasses mixtures at 0.448 to 0.697 mg/kg across honey types). Calcium: 895.5 mg/kg. Sodium: 9,461 mg/kg. Sulfur: 2,026 mg/kg. Phosphorus: 95.64 mg/kg. Magnesium: 38.63 mg/kg. Potassium was reported at a very high value consistent with concentrated beet molasses composition; the value as printed in the paper is 305,969 mg/kg, which likely reflects the concentrated dry-weight-equivalent basis of the molasses product used as an adulterant.
Invert syrup profile (adjacent-matrix context, p. 7 to 8): Mineral-poor profile with relatively higher sodium. At 50% v/v adulteration, invert syrup diluted native honey macroelements by approximately 40 to 60%.
Potassium-to-sodium ratio in pure honeys (Table 3, p. 9): This ratio is the central authenticity marker. Values for unadulterated honeys: honeydew 128.6, forest/nectar-honeydew 110.1, multifloral nectar 50.56, nectar-honeydew 18.16, rapeseed nectar 49.59. At 50% beet molasses adulteration, the ratio for honeydew honey fell from 128.6 to 3.280 (97.4% decrease). At 50% invert syrup, the ratio fell to 51.12 (60% decrease).
Physicochemical parameters of adulterants (Table 4, pp. 11 to 12): Beet molasses water content 21.8%, sugar content 77.5 Brix, electrical conductivity 17.47 mS/cm. Invert syrup water content 22.6%, sugar content 76.5 Brix, electrical conductivity 31.6 mS/cm.
Methods (brief)
ICP-OES (Thermo Scientific iCAP 7000 series); microwave acid digestion in closed-vessel Ultrawave Milestone system using 65% nitric acid; 0.5 g aliquot; ytterbium internal standard. Twenty-four elements measured. PCA and hierarchical cluster analysis (Ward’s method) for pattern classification. Kruskal-Wallis test with Dunn post-hoc correction for group comparisons.
Evidence fitness
This source is adjacent-matrix context for the syrups-maple-agave-molasses product page. It provides elemental profiling of beet molasses and invert syrup as honey adulterants, not as commercial food products in their own right. The beet molasses cobalt value and the potassium-to-sodium ratios are reliable data points for the adulterant matrix studied. This source cannot support occurrence estimates for lead, cadmium, arsenic, nickel, or other panel metals in maple syrup, agave, or commercial molasses. Toxic elements were below LOD in the pure Polish honeys tested.
Limitations
No data on maple syrup, agave syrup, or commercial food-grade molasses as retail products. Beet molasses values reflect a concentrated adulterant product and are not interchangeable with dilute commercial molasses. Toxic elements below LOD means no detectable contamination in this sample set, not an absence of contamination in honey generally. Sample set covers Polish honeys from 2024 only; geographic scope is narrow.
Related evidence
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