Hive products have numerous beneficial properties; however, the hive’s health is affected by the surrounding environment. The widespread use of herbicides in agriculture, such as glyphosate and glufosinate, has raised alarm among consumers, beekeepers, and environmentalists due to their potential to harm bees and humans through the consumption of bee products. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the presence of glyphosate, glufosinate, and their metabolites in hive products, collecting and comparing available data from peer-reviewed research and surveys conducted across several countries. Moreover, it analyzes and discusses the potential impacts of these substances on human and bee health, analytical aspects, and recent regulatory developments. The data has revealed that these substances can be present in the different matrices tested, but the concentrations found are usually lower than the maximum residue limits set. However, the use of different methodologies with non-uniform analytical performances, together with an incomplete search for regulated analytes, leads to heterogeneity and makes comparisons challenging. In addition to the completion of studies on the toxicology of herbicide active ingredients, further monitoring actions are necessary, harmonizing analytical methodologies and data management procedures.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are persistent and bioaccumulative contaminants frequently detected in animal-derived foods, raising concerns for consumer health. In 2020, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) established a group tolerable weekly intake (TWI) of 4.4 ng/kg bw per week for four PFAS (PFOA, PFNA, PFOS, PFHxS) based on immunotoxicity, prompting the European Commission to set maximum levels in food. However, many other PFAS are present in the diet, and their cumulative risk is poorly characterized. This study applied the Relative Potency Factor (RPF) approach, using hepatic toxicity as the reference endpoint. The RPF approach addresses a key challenge in assessing human dietary exposure to PFAS by enabling cumulative risk assessment for complex mixtures found in food, moving beyond single-compound evaluations. Occurrence data from EFSA’s 2020 opinion were combined with European consumption data for fish, meat, eggs, and milk across four population groups (toddlers, adolescents, adults, elderly). Exposure estimates, expressed in PFOA equivalents, were compared with the group TWI. Results showed toddlers as the most vulnerable, with cumulative exposure approaching or exceeding TWI through fish, meat, and eggs, while milk contributed less. PFOS and PFOA were the main contributors across all food categories, with PFNA and PFDA also relevant, especially in younger populations. The findings highlight the added value of the RPF approach for cumulative PFAS risk assessment and emphasize the need for updated monitoring, refinement of potency factors for under-studied PFAS, and continued regulatory measures to protect high-risk consumers.

The analysis of natural cobalamins in dairy products still represents an analytical challenge. The matrix’s complexity, low concentration level, light sensitivity, and binding to proteins are just some of the aspects that make their quantification a difficult goal to achieve. Vitamin B12 plays a fundamental role in human nutrition, and its intake is closely linked to a diet that includes the consumption of food of animal origin. In the current literature, few studies have been carried out on the quantitation of cobalamin in ripened cheeses. A sensitive, selective, and robust ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) method was developed, validated, and applied on ripened cheeses from different species (cow, sheep, and goat) purchased from local Italian markets, highlighting species-dependent differences in vitamin B12 concentrations. The vitamin B12 extraction procedure was performed by converting all cobalamins to the cyanocobalamin form. Furthermore, solid-phase extraction was used for matrix clean-up and analyte preconcentration. The proposed method showed good performance in terms of linearity, sensitivity, reproducibility, and repeatability. The mean vitamin B12 content ranged from <LOQ to 38.9 ng/g. Sheep cheese showed the highest concentrations of vitamin B12, with a mean content of 29.0 ng/g.