This report describes the outcome of a Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) mission in India, carried out between 16 and 24 September 2009, as part of the published programme of FVO inspections on residue controls in third countries.
Pune: Pune-Based entrepreneur Rajiv Devkar seems to have hit the jackpot in his quest to preserve mangoes without the use of cold storage facilities. Devkar experimented with honey, a natural preservative as an alternative, putting two alphonso mangoes in a jar of honey in May and found them well-preserved in December.
A method has been developed and validated for the simultaneous analysis of different veterinary drug residues (macrolides, tetracyclines, quinolones, and sulfonamides) in honey. Honey samples were dissolved with Na2EDTA, and veterinary residues were extracted from the supernatant by solid-phase extraction (SPE), using OASIS HLB cartridges.
Honey samples, collected from the Southern Marmara region of Turkey, were analysed for erythromycin residues by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry using electrospray ionization in the positive ion mode (LC-ESI-MS). Fifty samples, comprising chestnut, pine, linden and multi-flower honeys, were collected directly from hives and analyzed.
The aim of this work was to develop an analytical method for simultaneous assay of residues of two families of antibiotics, and three pesticides, in honey. The assays involved a mixture of five tetracyclines, four sulfamides, and the pesticides coumaphos, carbendazim, and amitraz (two metabolites).
Mr. Sashi Kumar with his branded honey bottles in his lab. Income generation is important for any agricultural activity. What farmers need is a remunerative income (not minimum income) for their produce, and honeybee rearing fits the slot too well. It has been proven to increase a farmer's income by 50-60 per cent under favourable conditions. It requires little investment, no land, and is not labour intensive. It is particularly suited as an income-generating activity for women, young people, and the landless. Production
Honey, being a natural product manufactured by honey bees is considered to be free from any extraneous material. The over-reliance on pesticides caused several environmental problems including pesticide residues in food. This constitutes a potential risk for human health, because of their sub acute and chronic toxicity.
