The Millefiori honeyamong the most appreciated and widespread on the tables of Italians, is it considered a healthy and natural food but is it always so? To answer this question, The life jacket he tested 14 jars of honey purchased in the main supermarkets and discount stores (12 from traditional agriculture and 2 biological). The goal was to verify their freshness and the presence of potentially harmful substances, such as neonicotinoid pesticides, known for their negative impact on bees and the environment.
On the total of the products analyzed, 7 were of Italian origin, while in 4 other brands the Italian honey was mixed with products of other origins. The remaining champions came from foreign countries, both from the European and non -EU Union, and in 2 cases they also contained honey of tropical origin.
Let’s see what laboratory analyzes have discovered on these products.
What was found in honey
One of the most alarming data concerns the presence of Acetamiprida pesticide neonicotinoide responsible for the moria of bees. This substance It was detected in 9 of the 14 samples analyzedshowing that the problem of pollution from phytopharmacies is far from solved.
Even more serious is the presence of Thiacloprid, Another neonicotinoid prohibited since 2021, found in three champions belonging to brands of large retailers. In addition, two honey contained traces of spirotetramatan insecticide accused of interfering with the human hormonal system and intended to be prohibited definitively starting from October 2025.
The environmental persistence of these pesticides shows that bees continue to collect them during flowering, despite the regulations limit their use in certain stages of cultivation.
As he remembers The life jacketthe beekeepers, together with the pollinating insects, are the first victims of the massive use of pesticides and their persistence in the environment. In fact, these substances do not end in honey because they are used by the producers, but because they are widely used in agriculture, making it impossible for bees to avoid them. Some, such as ThiaCloprid, persist for a long time in the land and waters, continuing to contaminate plants and flowers even years after their ban.
A worrying figure emerges regarding acetamiprid, whose presence in honey suggests use during flowering, despite being expressly prohibited to protect pollinators. His wide diffusion in the tested champions indicates that the rules of use are often ignored.
Another critical figure that emerges from the test concerns the freshness of honey, evaluated through the concentration of the HMF, A compound that increases with heat and conservation time. The law establishes a maximum limit of 40 mg/kg for common honey and 80 mg/kg for tropical honey.
One of the tested samples, Casentino beekeeping, has exceeded the allowed limit, reporting a possible problem in the conservation of the product. The company said that honey in its warehouses respects the regulations, assuming that thermal stress immediately on the shelves may have altered the values found in the test. In fact, he said to the lifeguard:
As for the parameters of HMF and diastasis we can guarantee compliance with the legislation for the goods present in stock in our warehouses, the maintenance of honey in fresh and dry places, far from direct sources of heat and sun rays, is the presupposition for the best maintenance over time. This is why the distribution must also commit to guaranteeing these conditions. In this case, the against the champion of the lot of your analyzes results from our controls compliant with the legislation in force since the value of the HMF is less than 20 mg/kg, therefore we assume that the product taken on the shelves may have undergone thermal stress, even small but prolonged, not attributable to us.
The worst products of the test
According to the criteria which the experts of the Life jacketthe products with worst evaluations are obviously those that have shown significant contamination from high pesticides and/or levels of HMF.
Below is the list of products that obtained the lowest score in the testequal to 3 out of 10:
How the test was conducted
The analysis took place in two independent laboratories, where 14 samples of Millefiori honey were examined, of which 12 conventional and 2 biological. The parameters assessed were:
The final evaluation was influenced by several critical factors: the presence, even if only in traces (under 0.01 mg/kg), of Acetamiprid determined a “mediocre” judgment, while the detection of Thiacloprid, a prohibited pesticide, made the vote drop to “scarce”. In addition, for non -tropical honey, a value of HMF over 30 mg/kg has negatively affected the overall score.
The lifeguard experts also remember the limits of the law:
The results of this test confirm that the problem of pesticide contamination in Millefiori honey is far from solved. The bees, which should be the sentries of environmental health, continue to collect harmful substances.
For those wishing to find out what Mieli have passed the test with full marks, can refer to the March of the life jacket.
