Effects of the processing steps on parathion levels during honey production and parathion removal by macroporous adsorption resins

The effects of different steps in honey production on parathion levels and parathion removal from honey using macroporous adsorption resins (MARs) were investigated in this study. Parathion residues were quantified by gas chromatography with flame photometric detection (GC-FPD) after each processing step including preheating, filtration, vacuum concentration and pasteurization. The four processing steps could reduce the initial parathion level of 2.77 to 2.73, 2.53, 2.30 and 2.23 mg/kg, respectively, and the total loss of parathion was only 19%. Meanwhile, different types of MARs were used in parathion adsorption, and the results from removal experiments showed that LS-803 resin was more efficient in removing parathion from honey than other resins LS-903, LSA-21 and LSA-900B, with the adsorption rate of above 90%.