SIMULTANEOUS QUANTITATIVE DETECTION OF ANTIBIOTICS FROM APULIAN HONEY USING A BIOCHIP MULTI-ARRAY TECHNOLOGY

Antimicrobial compounds are used in food production to treat or prevent animal diseases. Antibiotics potentially present in honey are inappropriate, even presenting risks to human health. For this reason, the use of antimicrobial compounds in food-producing animals was banned or restricted by many countries and no market authorisation may be obtained without MRLs (Maximum Residue Limits) [1]. On the other hand, no MRLs were set for honey and then only honeys free of antibiotics may be sold in the EU countries. In fact, the use of antibiotics for the treatment of honey bees is illegal in the EU, but due to the high import quota from non-EU countries, contaminated honey products may be found on the European markets [2]. The extensive use of antibiotics in veterinary medicine represented a potential hazard for human health; they may produce residues in foodstuffs causing allergic reactions, toxic effects, antibiotic resistance and damage to the central nervous system [3]. The aim of this study was to detect the presence of antibiotics in Apulian honey through the Antimicrobial array II (AM II) method. Sixty-six honey samples of nine floral origins were divided into two groups, based on the year of production. The first group, consisting of twenty-four samples of Apulian honey, was produced in 2016 while, the second one, consisting of forty-two samples, was composed by Apulian honey produced during the year 2017. Among the sixty-six honeys analysed, as many as forty pointed out the presence of antibiotics, although many samples showed values of antibiotics lower than the limits quantifiable by the instrument. Regarding the year of production, a different use of the antibiotic substances was evident between the two years monitored. In fact, among the 24 honey samples of the year 2016, only 2 showed positivity to quinolones, however, in quantities slightly higher than the limits of quantification by the instrument. On the other hand, among the 42 honey samples collected during the year 2017, 38 highlighted the presence of at least one of the six classes of antibiotics. Local controls should be further investigated because honey, which is generally considered a natural and healthy product [4] and always widely requested on the market, may itself become a risk for the consumer health. Considering that the new EU Regulations place the consumer health as the main objective to achieve in the food chain, it is essential to check that the ban on the use of antibiotics in beekeeping practices is respected, introducing more and easy controls to ensure not only the health of the consumer but also the health of the bees themselves.