I have a jar of honey that says on the back “Warning: Do not feed honey to infants under one year of age.”
Why not? What will happen if you do?
Botulism
Why is that only a concern for children younger than 1?
Older children and adults have stronger immune systems that can counter the small amount of botulism spores present in the honey. More specifically, the botulism spores can colonize teh infant gut, which does not yet have its full complement of bioflora. When the gut us fully colonized, the growth of other bacteria is dramatically minimized.
I thought it had to do with the acidity of the stomach - infants have less acidic stomachs, while the stronger stuff in older people’s bellies will kill the spores. Is this an UL?
While I’m at it, is it also important to avoid feeding baked goods containing honey to infants, or does the heat of cooking neutralize the botulism spores?
Here is a page on infant botulism/floppy baby syndrome.
Clostridium botulinum is a pretty common bacteria, and bees get it in their honey.
The bacteria C. botulinum is not itself harmful, but when in an anaerobic environment (e.g. small intestine)it produces a deadly toxin called botulism.
Stomach acid kills the bacteria, but babies don’t produce enough. C. botulinum survives, enters the small intestine, and produces botulism as a result of the anaerobic environment.
In food safety terms this is called a food borne intoxication(byproducts make you sick) as opposed to a food borne infection(bacteria makes you sick).
In case they turn into giant bees.
I remember reading an article in one of those baby magazines that said there may be a link between the spores in honey and SIDS. Since SIDS usually occurs during the first year of life, this seems to make sense to have the warning.