Can honey contain hidden plasticizers and bisphenols from the environment?

What's actually in it

Honey is a natural food, but bees collect nectar from an environment saturated with plastic pollution. Plasticizers and bisphenols from agricultural plastics, food packaging, and urban waste contaminate flowers, water, and soil. Bees pick up these chemicals during foraging and concentrate them in the hive.

What the research says

A 2026 study in Foods analyzed Algerian honey samples for plasticizer and bisphenol contamination. The researchers found multiple plasticizers and bisphenol compounds in the honey. The levels varied by region, with honey from more industrialized areas showing higher contamination.

Honey is often seen as one of the purest foods, but this study shows that environmental plastic pollution reaches even natural products. People who consume honey daily are getting a dose of these endocrine disruptors.

Choose honey from rural, low-pollution areas when possible. Buy from beekeepers who use glass jars and minimize plastic in their operations. Vary your sweetener sources.