Does store-bought honey contain bisphenol chemicals from plastic packaging?

What's actually in it

Most store-bought honey comes in plastic squeeze bottles or jars. During processing, honey also passes through plastic pipes, filters, and storage tanks. Each of these contacts can transfer bisphenols and plasticizers into the honey. Since honey is slightly acidic and often stored for months, it can slowly pull chemicals out of its container.

People think of honey as a natural, pure food. But the packaging and processing can add synthetic chemicals that weren't there when the bees made it.

What the research says

A 2026 study in Food Chem tested honey samples sold in Algerian markets for plasticizers and bisphenol chemicals. The researchers found BPA and several plasticizer compounds in the honey.

The contamination levels varied by brand and packaging type. Honey sold in plastic containers had higher levels than honey sold in glass. The researchers traced the chemicals back to the packaging materials and the plastic equipment used during extraction and bottling.

While the levels found were generally below acute danger thresholds, honey is something many people eat every single day: in tea, on toast, in cooking. That daily exposure adds up over months and years, especially for children who may eat honey regularly.

Buying honey in glass jars from local beekeepers is the simplest way to reduce this exposure. If you buy plastic-bottled honey, transferring it to a glass container at home helps too.