PECULIARITIES OF BEE PROTEIN PRODUCTION AND INTENSITY OF ITS CONTAMINATION WITH 137CS AND 90SR IN THE CONDITIONS OF HONEY-GROWING LANDS OF THE FOREST-STEPPE AND POLISSYA

Abstract

One of the priority areas of social development in Ukraine is to provide the population with high-quality and safe food raw materials, among which bee products containing a number of biologically active substances, namely vitamins, carbohydrates, amino acids, minerals, flavonoids, melanins, etc. are in high demand. Most of these substances have highly nutritional therapeutic and prophylactic properties, including immunostimulating, radioprotective, antioxidant, sorption, etc. These properties of bee products provide a wide range of uses in public nutrition and medical practice for therapeutic purposes. It is known that the quality and safety of bee protein products depend on the ecological condition of honey-growing lands. Their current state in some areas of Ukraine has been subjected to anthropogenic contamination, in particular with 137Cs and 90Sr radionuclides as a result of the Chornobyl accident, which has led to a decrease in their quality, production efficiency, and reduced demand and use. It has been established that among bee products produced in the areas of honey-bearing lands contaminated with 137Cs (1–5 Ci/km2) and above, flower pollen and beehive have a several times higher intensity of contamination compared to honey and wax. At the same time, the permissible level of radionuclides in bee pollen and feathers produced on these honey-growing areas was found to be exceeded. Taking into account the requirements for permissible levels of radionuclides in beekeeping products under the 2006 State Standard, which have significantly increased compared to the 1991 State Standard due to a 3-fold decrease in specific activity of 137Cs and 90Sr in bee nuc, pergola, and drone larvae homogenate, respectively, there is a need to study the intensity of contamination of these products and develop ways to improve their quality. The need for such studies is due to the social task of reducing the level of radiation pressure on the population.