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Why Can You Not Feed Honey to Children Under 1-Year Old?

Honey is a natural sweetener made by bees and is comprised of fructose and glucose sugars as well as various other trace minerals and enzymes. Natural foods advocates promote honey as a healthier alternative to table sugar and high fructose corn syrup because it is not highly refined. Although it may be more nutritious than other sweeteners, pediatricians do not recommend feeding honey to children under 12 months of age or to kids with compromised immune systems.

  1. Botulism

    • As honey is a naturally produced food and is not highly processed, there is a possibility that it contains a small amount of the spores of a bacteria called Clostridium botulinum. This C. botulinum spore can cause a potentially fatal bacterial infection in the lower digestive tract known as botulism. As young children do not have sufficient immunity to protect against a botulism infection from eating honey, pediatricians and other health experts warn against feeding infants under 1-year old raw honey.

    Signs of Botulism

    • A botulism infection is a serious health threat and may be fatal to an infant. Therefore, if you suspect your child may have botulism you should take him to the emergency room for immediate treatment. Symptoms of botulism in infants include lethargic behavior, constipation, reduced ability to suck while drinking or nursing and weak crying.

    Microflora

    • The reason honey poses a significant health risk to infants but not older children and adults is because babies have not developed adequate bacterial cultures in their lower intestines to combat any C. botulinum bacterial spores that may be ingested by consuming honey. However as children mature beyond 12 months old, their body develops sufficient microflora bacteria to allow them to safely digest raw honey without the risk of botulism poisoning.

    Precautions

    • In addition to not feeding your infant raw honey, experts recommend that you do not feed an infant food that has honey cooked or baked into it as an ingredient. Botulism spores are difficult to kill through home meal preparation as the cooking temperature and duration may not be sufficient to neutralize the bacteria spores. Commercially prepared foods that contain cooked honey are reported to be safe to feed to children of all ages.

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