Detection of Antibiotic Residues in Honeys from Different Regions in Türkiye by Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry Method

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate 29 antibiotics and their metabolites in 27 honey samples obtained from different provinces of Turkey by Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry Method (LS-MS/MS). This study showed that the correlation coefficients of the calibration graphs were 0.999, the limit of detection (LOD) was 0.94–3.40 ng/g, and the limit of quantification (LOQ) was 3.11–11.22 ng/g. To express the accuracy of the method, intra- and inter-day recoveries were tested using three different concentrations from 0.25 to 1 μg/kg. Intra-day recoveries for antibiotics and metabolites were found to be 95.56–115.56% with relative standard deviation values between 0.43 and 6.58; inter-day recoveries were found to be 90.00–108.89% with relative standard deviation values between 0.54 and 5.31. The analysis results showed that no antibiotic residues were found in any of the honey samples. The honey did not pose any danger to food safety or public health.