Determination of antibiotic residues in honey in relation to different potential sources and relevance for food inspection

•Antibiotic usage in animals may leave antibiotic residues in foodstuffs such as honey.•Screening tests show scarce efficiency for antimicrobial residues detection.•HRMS multiclass method offer high throughput traits to detect residues at trace level.•The control of antibiotic in food remain pivotal to prevent antibiotic resistance.•No antibiotic residues were detected in honeys from different geographical areas. Honey contaminations could derive from intensive agriculture and industrial activities, but also from beekeeper treatments. In EU no MRLs for antibiotics in honey are set, only a minimum required performance limit for chloramphenicol of 0.3 μg kg−1 is recommended. Screening tests are available, characterised by their rapidity and simple use. Due to their high rate of false positives and the need to meet zero tolerance levels for antibiotics, their presence in samples was investigated using a liquid chromatography High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (LC-HRMS) multiclass antibiotic residue method, comparing the results with those of previous screening tests. The confirmatory method showed good sensitivity: CCα and CCβ ranging from 0.03 to 4.80 ng g−1 and from 0.12 to 5.56 ng g−1, respectively. Ninety-eight honey samples from different geographical areas, analysed by two screening tests, showed a high percentage of false positives. This is fundamental to guarantee honey safety, especially, for organic production.