Determination of heavy metal residues in honey of different botanical origins and assessment of potential health risks

Objective: Regular monitoring of trace elements and heavy metals in honey provides critical data not only for assessing product quality and food safety, but also for tracking environmental pollution. In this study, the concentrations of various metals were determined in a total of 60 honey samples of different botanical origins (pine, flower, chestnut, and citrus) that are commercially available in Turkey. Materials and Methods: To determine the concentrations of Aluminum (Al), Arsenic (As), Copper (Cu), Barium (Ba), Beryllium (Be), Zinc (Zn), Silver (Ag), Cadmium (Cd), Cobalt (Co), Chromium (Cr), Lead (Pb), Lithium (Li), Manganese (Mn), Molybdenum (Mo), Nickel (Ni), Selenium (Se), Titanium (Ti), Vanadium (V), Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), Sodium (Na), and Potassium (K) in the honey samples, Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) techniques were employed. Results: Aluminum (Al), Arsenic (As), Barium (Ba), Beryllium (Be), Silver (Ag), Cadmium (Cd), Cobalt (Co), Lithium (Li), Nickel (Ni), Selenium (Se), and Vanadium (V) were found to be below the limit of detection (