# Infants and honey

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infants-and-honey/50279>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 16, 2001, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infants-and-honey/50279 "2001-01-16T04:27:58Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![galyean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f9ae1b/32.png) [@galyean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galyean)\
**Post date:** [January 16, 2001, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infants-and-honey/50279/1 "2001-01-16T04:27:58Z")

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Why aren’t babies supposed to have honey?

Is it because it isn’t pasteurized or homogenized or something? Or does it have something to do with the glucose, sucrose, fructose content? Before I’m corrected, I know it doesn’t contain all three, but it must certainly contain at least one.

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**Author:** ![Arjuna34](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Arjuna34](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arjuna34)\
**Post date:** [January 16, 2001, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infants-and-honey/50279/2 "2001-01-16T04:40:48Z")

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There’s a risk of botulism for infants …

Here’s part of my post from an [earlier thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=45237):

> [@](#):
>
> [Feeding Your Child for Lifelong Health](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0553378929/o/qid=941480443/sr=8-1/002-6221431-4363448), by Susan B. Roberts, Ph.D., and Melvin B. Heyman, M.D. (Prof. of Pediatrics at the Univ. of California). From the book (page 145):
> 
> > [@](#):
> >
> > One of the most frequent causes of infant botulism is honey, responsible for about a third of all cases in childern under six months. Before twelve months your baby’s intestinal track doesn’t have the adult secretions and complex “good” bacterial flora that can minimize the growth of Clostridium botulinum, which is commonly found in honey, even in heat-treated commercial brands. Just a tiny amount of honey–used to sweeten a pacifier, for instance–can contain enough spores to cause a problem. Corn syrup, once suspected of carrying the spores, is now believed to be fine.
> 
> Here are some more web links about it.
> 
> [The Mayo Clinic](http://www.mayohealth.org/mayo/askdiet/htm/new/qd981118.htm)
> 
> [The National Honey Board (www.honey.com)](http://www.honey.com/info/tummy.html)
> 
> [The FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration)](http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/095_bot.html)
> 
> [WebMD](http://onhealth.webmd.com/baby/columnist/item,97376.asp)
> 
> [The CDC (Centers for Disease Control)](http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/foodborn/botulism.htm) A search on the CDC site for “infant botulism, honey” matched 131 documents.

Arjuna34