Distribution and Health Risk Assessment of TCS and Other Typical Endocrine Disruptors in Honey

The detection of endocrine disruptors in the environment suggests that human health will be adversely affected by them, and the presence of endocrine disruptors in food is even more hazardous to health.There is a wide range of endocrine disruptors, including antimicrobials, preservatives, plastic additives and photoinitiators.The level of endocrine disruptor contamination in honey, a widely used everyday food, is closely related to human health.In this study, a method for the simultaneous determination of seven typical endocrine disruptors (triclosan (TCS), triclocarban (TCC), methyltriclosan (MTCS), methylparaben (MeP), propylparaben (PrP), bisphenol F (BPF), and 4-hydroxybenzophenone (4HBP)) in honey by ultrasonication-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (UALLME) coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was developed.The actual sample spiked recoveries were 89.70-102.2% with RSD values of 1.1-3.9%, and intra-day precision was in the range of 0.6-1.6% and inter-day precision was in the range of 0.2-1.2%.It also tested 47 honey samples from 7 countries, 12 nectar sources and 5 materials of packaging.The results showed that the total detection rates of TCS and TCC were 29.79% and 19.15%, respectively, the maximum detected concentration of TCS was 144.6 g/kg, the detected concentrations of TCC were below the limit of quantification (LOQ), and MTCS was not detected.The total detection rates of BPF, 4HBP, MeP and PrP in honey samples were 97.87%, 36.17%, 82.98% and 80.85%, respectively, and the maximum detected concentrations were 1194 g/kg, 294.9 g/kg, 439.5 g/kg and 136.7 g/kg, respectively. TCS in citrus nectar, TCC in motherwort nectar, and 4HBP in multifloral nectar were the most frequently detected, and BPF, MeP, and PrP were detected in all nectar sources.Foreign honey samples had a wider range of TCS, BPF, 4HBP and MeP contamination than domestic samples.The concentrations of TCS, BPF, MeP and PrP in honey packed in PET were the highest among all materials.Seven typical endocrine disruptors in honey were found to pose a low risk to adult health through a health risk assessment.However, the health risk of BPAF exposure through honey consumption is high for infants one year of age and younger.Therefore, it is recommended that infants should avoid honey foods and that contamination and monitoring of typical endocrine disruptors during food processing should be enhanced.