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Is air traffic contaminating our honey?
Honey monitoring
How does the operation of an international airport affect foods such as honey that are produced in the surrounding area? Is the honey from the vicinity of Munich Airport contaminated with airborne pollutants?
Is air traffic contaminating our honey?
In the spring of 2008 beehives were placed at the airport fence and at locations below the approach and departure paths. The honey produced by the bees in the course of the spring and summer was analyzed in the laboratory to detect contaminants. At the same time, samples from the regular honey production of beekeepers from the airport region were studied using the same methods. The two series of measurements obtained from the airport region were finally compared with analysis of honey from a rural area not influenced by an airport.
What do bees have to do with airborne contaminants?
A collector bee makes up to 40 flights a day and visits approximately 4000 blossoms. While the bees are collecting nectar they may come into contact with contaminants found in the air, in rainwater or on blossoms and pollen. In the hive, worker bees then turn the nectar into honey.
The results of monitoring the honey cannot serve as the basis for comprehensive conclusions about environmental quality.
It is purely a food study and provides conclusive information on the quality of this excellent regional foodstuff with regard to the airborne pollutants that were investigated.
The biomonitoring study with kale and cultivated grass differs in that respect: This is a recognized and repeatedly reviewed process that delivers detailed conclusions on air quality.
Area under study
Honey monitoring results
All measured values are in ranges that are commonly found in food, and give no reason for concern. No traces of antimony, arsenic, cadmium or mercury were found in any of the samples.
If measurements from the area of Aichach near Augsburg are compared with those at Munich Airport, the honey samples from the two regions are equally uncontaminated. No effect on the quality of honey as a foodstuff through air pollution can be determined as a result of airport operations. We can therefore feel free to enjoy the honey from the Munich Airport region without any concerns whatsoever.
