A review on Api-products: current scenario of potential contaminants and their food safety concerns

Despite being considered a 'superfood', Api-products (Honeybee-derived products) are also linked with het-erogeneous health risk factors such as toxic heavy metals, pathogens, antibiotics and pesticide residues due to unscrupulous beekeeping practices. The present work is a holistic approach to extensively studying and mapping various contaminants in Api-products. Thus, this provides an insight into their associated health hazards, such as placental damage, bronchitis hyperactivity, malignancy, renal lesion, neural degeneration, various allergens, etc. According to our findings, Api-products were composed of various perilous components listed down. Toxic heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and lead were detected in abundance. Lead (120-487000 mu g/kg), cadmium (30-25400 mu g/kg) and arsenic (9.3-1370 mu g/kg) were spotted in bee pollen followed by propolis (cadmium, 30-930 mu g/kg) and honey (lead, 1.71-2530 mu g/kg) above the acceptable level. Additionally, bifen-thrin, triadimefon, lambda-cyhalothrin, and chlorpyrifos were major pesticides found in bee products, except in royal jelly. Also, honey and royal jelly samples were predominantly detected with antibiotics such as tetracy-clines, quinolone, nitroimidazole, and sulfonamide. Pathogens (C. botulinum, Bacillus spp., Zygosaccharomyces, Aspergillus spp.) were mostly identified in bee pollen and honey. Still, there is a shortage of evidence related to royal jelly and bee bread which signifies huge research gaps. Furthermore, the current paper emphasizes various detection techniques, safety issues, and toxicological concerns related to Api-products, which alarms the urgency of establishing global safety regulations in the future.

Automated summary

Despite being considered a 'superfood', Api-products (Honeybee-derived products) have been found to contain toxic heavy metals, pathogens, antibiotics, and pesticide residues. This study extensively examines and maps the contaminants in Api-products, highlighting their associated health hazards. The findings reveal the presence of dangerous components such as heavy metals (lead, cadmium, arsenic), pesticides (bifen-thrin, triadimefon, lambda-cyhalothrin, chlorpyrifos), antibiotics, and pathogens (C. botulinum, Bacillus spp., Zygosaccharomyces, Aspergillus spp.). The paper emphasizes the need for global safety regulations for Api-products.