DETECTION OF THE THIAMETHOXAM MARKER IN A HONEY SAMPLE BY MASS SPECTROMETRIC METHOD

The intensive use of pesticides in agriculture leads to environmental pollution, including of flowering plants. Further along the chain, bees transfer residual amounts of plant protection chemicals and their decay products to honey, which poses a threat to human health. Detecting contaminants in such a complex facility requires comprehensive approaches. Using the example of a study of a honey sample from one of the apiaries of the Ulyanovsk region, after a case of mass death of bees due to the treatment of nearby fields with Eforia, an integrated approach using both classical chromatographic methods and a multicomponent chromato-mass spectrometric method was considered, which made it possible to identify a contamination marker. Classical chromatographic methods did not reveal any residual amounts of pesticides. Identified contamination marker: N-(2-chloro-5-thiazolyl) methyl-N`-methyl-N``-nitroguanidine, is a metabolite of thiamethoxam, a pesticide included in the preparation “Eforia”. The issue of the safety of the studied honey sample remains controversial.