Honey contains harmful pesticides, study warns

An alarming new study has revealed three-quarters of the honey produced on Earth contain pesticides that cause harm to bees and pose a health risk to humans.

75% of the 198 honey samples tested were laced with neonicotinoid chemicals, according to a report by the Daily Mail. High doses could attack our nervous system.

"Beyond doubt ... anyone regularly eating honey is likely to be getting a small dose of mixed neurotoxins," Dave Goulson, Professor of Biology at the University of Sussex told the Daily Mail.

"In terms of acute toxicity, this certainly won’t kill them and is unlikely to do measurable harm. What we don’t know is whether there are long-term, chronic effects from life-time exposure to a cocktail of these and other pesticides in our honey and most other foods," he explained.

Previous research has also shown how these chemical causes harm to bees and bumblebees. It damages their brain, affecting their ability to learn and remember. It also hinders their ability to forage for nectar.

"The levels detected are sufficient to affect bee brain function and may hinder their ability to forage on, and pollinate, our crops and our native plants," Dr Chris Connolly, reader in neurobiology at the University of Dundee, told the Daily Mail.

There needs to be a handle on the use of neonicotinoids, he believes.

The study was originally published in the journal Science.