Is Your Baby Eating Food That Contains Honey?

Reader Contribution by Mary Moss-Sprague
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Being a retired beekeeper, I’m very much into cooking with honey. With several gallons always on hand, I add it to many different foods. Since honeybees are on the decline, honey has become a more precious commodity, and not one to take for granted. (The honey bees aren’t yet on the increase, either, and I’m closely watching the battles over resolving the CCD problem and the related neonicotinoid-use issue on farms crops.)

Having put in my usual enthusiastic plug for honey, I must caution that there are times when putting honey in ANY food is taboo — mainly when children are under one year of age. Even if the honey was produced completely organically and with no processing, it can still be dangerous.

Why Infants Should Not Eat Honey

Most people have become aware that infants should not eat honey. There is always a chance of Clostridium botulinum (botulism) bacteria lurking in honey and the problem comes when these bacteria grow in the infant’s intestinal tract. Babies with infant botulism are constipated and have difficulty holding up their heads and sucking. It’s quite dangerous. Because honey can contain the C. botulinum bacteria, responsible beekeepers usually add to their honey labels that no form of raw or pasteurized honey should ever be fed to infants until they are one year old.

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