Micro and macroelements in honey and atmospheric pollution (NW and Central Poland)

Urban vegetation is generally exposed to high levels of air pollution in airborne particles, with the greatest exposure in the EU being seen in Poland. With the continuing growth of urban populations, there is a need to confirm whether honey produced from urban areas is of similar high quality to that from rural areas. A total of 27 honey samples were collected from urban and rural apiaries and tested for the concentrations of 19 elements by ICP-OES. The results were compared with data on honey produced in old and new EU countries (metadata). Our evaluation used a novel approach to determine threshold values in the identification of the bioproduct contamination index. The analysed urban honey samples demonstrated higher concentrations of K, Sr, Ba, Ni, and Co, and lower levels of Mn and B than rural honey samples. Contamination by PM10 particles and the toxic elements contained in them proved to be a poor predictor of the content of these elements in honey, in contrast to the effect of atmospheric pollution measured during firework shows, which demonstrated higher concentrations of Ba, Pb, Ca, Cu, and Mg. The non-carcinogenic risk assessment indicated that the analysed honey samples are of good quality and are comparable or of even better quality than honey products from other EU countries.