**4. Conclusions**

The presence of pesticide residues was detected in 90% of the analysed samples, but the concentrations did not exceed acceptable residue levels (Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council [16]). The residues of 11 substances were identified, including 5 insecticides (acetamiprid, thiacloprid, thiacloprid-amide, thiamethoxam, and dimethoate), 4 fungicides (carbendazim, azoxystrobin, tebuconazole, and boscalid) and 2 pharmacologically active substances used in veterinary medicine (DMF and total amitraz). The most frequently identified substances were thiacloprid, acetamiprid, and carbendazim.

The analysis of heavy metals showed that the honey from apiaries located in southeastern Poland is safe for human consumption. The levels of the toxic heavy metals mercury and cadmium did not exceed the maximum level that is safe for human health. The average lead content in the varietal honey also did not exceed the accepted limit of 0.10 mg/kg. The concentrations of Zn and Cu did not deviate from those reported in the literature for specific honey varieties.

To summarise the results of the research, the honey produced in southeastern Poland was shown to be safe for human health and consumption. The quality control of honey for the presence of chemical contaminants is crucial to the evaluation of the health safety of the product.

**Supplementary Materials:** The following supporting information can be downloaded at: https: //www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/foods11152362/s1, Table S1: The limits of quantification (LOQ) of the pesticides.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, M.K.-M. and M.F.; methodology, M.K.-M., P.D., A.T. and E.P.; formal analysis, M.K.-M. and A.T.; investigation, B.T. and P.D.; data curation, P.S.; writing original draft preparation, M.K.-M. and A.T.; writing—review and editing, M.F.; visualization, E.P. and B.T.; supervision, P.S.; project administration, P.S.; funding acquisition, P.S. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research was funded by the Minister of Science and Higher Education under the program "Regional Initiative of Excellence" in 2019–2022. Project number 029/RID/2018/19, funding amount PLN 11,927,330.00.

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** Not applicable.

**Informed Consent Statement:** Not applicable.

**Data Availability Statement:** Data will be made available upon reasonable request by the corresponding author.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
