Overview
This study measured cadmium, lead, chromium, copper, manganese, zinc, and iron in three types of floral honey from Bangladesh: mangrove (Aegiceras corniculatum), mustard (Brassica juncea), and lychee (Litchi chinensis). Six mustard honey samples were collected from three regions. Cadmium was below detection limits in mustard honey; lead was present but below the EU maximum admissible level (MAL) of 1 mg/kg.
Key numbers
Mustard honey metal concentrations (mg/kg, mean ± SD), Table 4:
- Cadmium: BDL (below detection limit)
- Lead: 0.10 ± 0.07 (range BDL to 0.19 mg/kg; below EU MAL 1 mg/kg)
- Chromium: 0.52 ± 0.29 mg/kg
- Copper: 0.09 ± 0.04 mg/kg
- Manganese: 2.78 ± 1.26 mg/kg
- Iron: approximately 15.44 mg/kg (highest recovery: 87.56%)
- Zinc: moderate recovery (77.42%)
AAS detection limits: cadmium (Cd) 228.67 nm wavelength, LOD 0.7 µg/L; lead (Pb) 217.35 nm, LOD 0.7 µg/L (Table 3).
The EU limit for cadmium in honey is 0.1 mg/kg. Cadmium was BDL in mustard honey but above the 0.1 mg/kg limit in some lychee honey samples, indicating the matrix distinction matters.
Methods
AAS; six mustard honey samples; physical parameters also measured.
Implications
Mustard honey is a distinct food form from mustard seeds and mustard greens. Lead at 0.10 mg/kg (100 µg/kg) in mustard honey is well above typical lead concentrations in raw mustard condiment or mustard seeds, reflecting accumulation mechanisms specific to the bee-honey pathway. This source is relevant to the mustard ingredient page as evidence of a distinct matrix (honey) with its own contamination profile; it is not transferable to condiment mustard or mustard greens.
Certification: not in HMT&C threshold pools. Routes to Mustard, Honey.
App: No contamination_profile blocks are touched.
Microbiome: Not a focus of this source.
Update history
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