Pesticide Residue Analysis and Laboratory Validation of Honey Samples

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Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs awarded a contract to UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) for pesticide residue analysis and laboratory validation.

The project involved analysing 20 honey samples for a suite of pesticides, with the same samples also analysed by Fera in a separate workstream.

This enabled comparison of reported pesticide residue values between the two laboratories to identify and benchmark anomalies, validate the approaches taken by both labs, and build confidence in using both labs for future residue analysis.

The work included quantifying pesticide residues from organic honey samples spiked with pesticides the previous year (10 stored under ambient conditions and 10 frozen), comparing quantified residues from UK CEH and Fera analyses, developing proposals for next steps based on outcomes, and reporting all findings to Defra.

The contract value was AUD 17,368.36.