Is honey safe to eat if it has weedkiller in it?
Modification of the existing maximum residue levels for picloram in animal commodities and honey
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Picloram residues in honey are almost always below the detection limit of 0.01 mg/kg, yet regulators still proposed a 0.05 mg/kg MRL—5 times higher than what’s ever been found.
It’s counterintuitive that a safety limit is set so far above actual measurements—most assume limits are close to observed levels. Here, the gap proves how conservative and protective the system is.
Practical Takeaways
Buy honey confidently—there’s no health risk from picloram residues at current levels.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Picloram residues in honey are almost always below the detection limit of 0.01 mg/kg, yet regulators still proposed a 0.05 mg/kg MRL—5 times higher than what’s ever been found.
It’s counterintuitive that a safety limit is set so far above actual measurements—most assume limits are close to observed levels. Here, the gap proves how conservative and protective the system is.
Practical Takeaways
Buy honey confidently—there’s no health risk from picloram residues at current levels.
Publication
Journal
EFSA Journal
Year
2024
Authors
Giulia Bellisai, G. Bernasconi, Luis Carrasco Cabrera, Irene Castellan, Monica del Aguila, Lucien Ferreira, Luna Greco, Samira Jarrah, R. Leuschner, A. Mioč, Stéfanie Nave, H. Reich, Silvia Ruocco, Alessia Pia Scarlato, Marta Szot, A. Theobald, Manuela Tiramani, A. Verani, E. Zioga
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Claims (5)
The amount of picloram residue found in honey and animal products, based on current safety limits and monitoring, is so low that it does not represent a health risk to people, even with long-term or single high exposures.
A safety limit of 0.05 mg/kg for the pesticide picloram in honey has been set based on measurements from bee-pollinated crops, and tests show that actual residue levels in honey do not go above this limit, suggesting the limit is sufficient to reflect real conditions.
Testing shows that picloram residues in animal fat and liver are consistently below the detectable limit of 0.01 mg/kg, so there is no scientific reason to raise the legal limits for these residues.
Picloram residues in honey and plant products are mostly bound to other molecules, and current testing methods that only measure free picloram miss a large portion of the residue. To accurately determine human exposure, tests must detect both the free and bound forms.
Regulatory agencies have set a safe daily limit for picloram, a chemical used in herbicides. Even the highest estimated amount of picloram people might consume through honey and animal products is only 2% of that limit, so current exposure levels are not expected to cause harm.