Honey from Afyonkarahisar (Türkiye) exhibits low toxic-element burdens and distinct spatial elemental patterns

Abstract

Abstract Honey integrates environmental inputs over the foraging range of honeybees, making it both a food and a natural sampler of local elemental exposure. Across 40 honey samples from 19 apiaries, Afyonkarahisar honeys displayed distinct multi-element compositions shaped by both regional background and localized enrichment. The mineral fraction was dominated by potassium, while iron and zinc were the most abundant trace elements. Toxic elements were consistently low: lead averaged 0.0051 mg kg⁻¹ (maximum 0.0346 mg kg⁻¹; below the commonly cited 0.10 mg kg⁻¹ level for honey), with similarly low concentrations of cadmium, mercury and arsenic. Multivariate analyses resolved two main compositional groups and four sub-groups with distinct elemental signatures, reflecting a gradient from low overall mineralization to localized multi-element enrichment. At typical honey consumption levels (30 g day⁻¹ for adults; 20 g day⁻¹ for children), all target hazard quotients were < 1 and the combined hazard index remained low (HI 0.0366 for adults; 0.0853 for children). Lifetime cancer risk estimates for Cr, Ni, As and Cd were 7.15 × 10⁻⁵ (adults) and 1.67 × 10⁻⁴ (children), within or close to commonly used tolerability ranges. Overall, Afyonkarahisar honeys appear safe for consumers and provide element fingerprints capable of resolving fine‑scale spatial variability in environmental elemental signatures.