Content of some heavy metals in Bulgarian honeydew honey

The bee honey is valuable and indispensable food that has accompanied the mankind since the ancient ages up today. Due to the specific way of deposing of the honeydew on the surface of the plant leaves, the honeydew honey is exposed on contamination from the environment on higher degree compared with the nectar honey. This study aimed to analyze the content of: lead, cadmium, copper, zinc, iron, manganese and cobalt in samples of honeydew honey from some high producing areas in Northeast (Silistra, Razgrad), and Southeast Bulgaria (Burgas).The samples were analyzed using atomic absorption spectrometer Perkin Elmer 3030. The ash content and the conductivity were determined as well. The conductivity of all samples exceeded 0.8 mS/cm meeting the requirements for authenticity of honeydew honey. The highest results for the content of lead (0.21±0.04) mg/kg, cadmium (0.023±0.007) mg/kg, zinc (3.29±2.34) mg/kg and manganese (2.39±0.85) mg/kg were found in the samples from Razgrad, for copper (0.87±0.28) mg/kg and for iron (11.47±6.29) mg/kg the highest were in Silistra and for cobalt (0.036±0.012) mg/kg in Burgas. The study demonstrates that the content of investigated metals in the honeydew honey is well balanced, and does not pose a risk for the consumer.