Minerva adds ‘analysis of heavy metals by ICP-MS’ to its portfolio

Minerva is the leading expert in honey testing in the UK.

The company has recently purchased a state-of-the-art Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrophotometer (ICP-MS), expanding Minerva’s existing on-site capabilities and the portfolio of Tentamus UK.

The ICP-MS will be applied in the determination of heavy metals by using a highly sensitive, quantitative method that has been developed for honey by experts at Minerva!

What are Heavy Metals?

Heavy metals are elements with high atomic weights, such as lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic, many of which are ubiquitous in nature.

Heavy Metals in Honey

Heavy metals can find their way into Honey products in various ways:

Examples of potential sources of heavy metals:

• Industry (e.g. via industrial waste, agrochemical use, disturbance and release of naturally occurring heavy metals), contaminating water, soil and the air.
• Traffic pollution
• Certain hive treatments 

Examples of potential modes of contamination:

• Bees visiting plants that have absorbed environmental contamination
• Bees visiting plants that have been treated with certain agrochemicals
• Directly as a result of the location of a hive close to a contamination source
• Directly as a result of the inappropriate use of hive treatments, or use of banned hive treatments 

Like most foodstuffs, honey is regulated by specific legislation, requiring honey to be free from heavy metals in hazardous amounts.

Why is it important that levels of Heavy Metals in Foodstuffs are monitored?

Consuming food that contains high levels of heavy metals can have serious adverse health effects, particularly if consumed over a long period of time.

Food manufacturers are responsible for ensuring that their products comply with regulations and do not pose a risk to consumer health.

By working with Minerva, testing and monitoring of food products can help to identify and mitigate potential sources of heavy metal contamination, ensuring that food products are safe and of high quality.

Minerva can offer accredited test results, for a wide range of contaminants, for virtually any food or feed matrix, quickly and efficiently. (Please refer to our UKAS issued ISO 17025 Schedule of Accreditation for details: https://www.ukas.com/wp-content/uploads/schedule_uploads/00002/2504Testing-Single.pdf ).