Determining the levels of lead and mercury in honey samples collected from Eastern Azarbaijan and Ardabil Provinces

The presence of heavy metals in water, air, soil and human food chain has indeed been a significant challenge in recent years that may put human life in jeopardy. Honey is one of the products which may be polluted by these metals. The aim of this study was to determine the levels of mercury and lead, supplied in Eastern Azarbaijan and Ardabil provinces. 50 samples of honey were collected randomly from the markets of the two provinces during May, 2015. The levels of mercury and lead were determined using atomic absorption spectrometry. The levels of the determined heavy metals were below the international standard (which is 1ppm for lead and 0.05 ppm for mercury) in all the tested samples. Unlike the levels of lead which were higher in the samples of Eastern Azarbaijan, mercury had a greater amount in the samples of Ardabil. The differences in the amounts of heavy metals in the two provinces were not significant though (P>0.05). The presence of these heavy metals in honey may be due to highly dense population in the areas, urbanization, industrial companies and traffic jams caused by countless transportation vehicles. Due to the fact that Iran has a considerable potential in producing and exporting honey, the safety of this product is of paramount importance and necessary measures must be taken to ensure its safety.