Honey and botulism - help please

P

putput

Registered User
I've just fed my 8month old daughter a slice of bread and realised it has honey as an ingredient. I can't believe I've been so stupid. My daughter is allergic to soy and eggs so I had checked the ingredients to make sure it was soy and egg free but didn't consider the risks of honey. What should I be looking out for to ensure she does not suffer from infant botulism. She is asleep right now and I am scared of something happening to her in her sleep.
 
I wouldn't worry about it, the baking would kill off any of the botulism, it is actual honey that you should be worried about as it has not been heated to kill off the germs.
 
Hi,

Thank you for your response. Is this definitely the case? I've been trying to research but not finding anything to put my mind at ease! Thank you so much if you can confirm there isn't an issue due to baking.
 
Actually baking isn't guaranteed to kill the botulism spores and most likely won't. If you bub hasn't shown any symptoms by now then you are ok but you should not continue to use products with honey in them until babies reach a year. The only way to kill the botulism spores it to thoroughly pasteurise which uses much higher temperature than baking. So unless the honey used in the bread was pasteurised before added to the bread dough, there is still a risk of botulism.

See below.

http://pediatrics.about.com/od/weeklyquestion/a/04_infant_honey.htm

AndreaY didn't fully read the url she posted. According the WHO website URL she referred to, "Commercial heat pasteurization (vacuum packed pasteurized products, hot smoked products) may not be sufficient to kill all spores and therefore safety of these products must be based on preventing growth and toxin production."
 
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Thanks ladybug.


I understand it can take up to 36 hours for symptoms to show and on some sites it says up to 30 days! All I can do is pray that my foolishness hasn't caused my daughter any harm. Anyone know where I can buy bread that doesn't contain honey, soy or egg???? I can't get my daughter to eat anything but she did seem interested in bread.
 
Sorry, but don't think pasteurization heats to higher temperatures, it is only sterilisation that does that. If the bread is made with the honey as bread ingredient, it'd have been baked to 180C or higher (at least for all the breads I know). This is higher than pasterization. Also processed food as mentioned in the quoted article is not the same as baking. Obviously if the bread is just coated with honey afterwards, it's a different matter altogether.

Anyway, if you are unsure or worried, you should not feed it to your baby, no harm in waiting a few more months.
 
As for bread, most breads would not contain soy, honey or egg, definitely most plain square loaves. For egg, you should also avoid any bread that has a shiny crust, this is usually cos it has egg glaze on it.

It may be painstaking, but you may want to make your own so you know what's in it. Bread freezes well, so if you make a batch, you can always defrost when you need to and reheat it.
 
AndreaY said:
Sorry, but don't think pasteurization heats to higher temperatures, it is only sterilisation that does that. If the bread is made with the honey as bread ingredient, it'd have been baked to 180C or higher (at least for all the breads I know). This is higher than pasterization. Also processed food as mentioned in the quoted article is not the same as baking. Obviously if the bread is just coated with honey afterwards, it's a different matter altogether.

Anyway, if you are unsure or worried, you should not feed it to your baby, no harm in waiting a few more months.
Click to expand...

Yes, you are right I stand corrected on the temperature of pasteurisation being lower than baking. But like the website states, "Botulism may be prevented by inactivation of the bacterial spores in heat-sterilized, canned products or by inhibiting growth in all other products. Commercial heat pasteurization may not be sufficient to kill all spores and therefore safety of these products must be based on preventing growth and toxin production." The risk of honey bread is during the proofing of bread dough when the botulism spores can multiply before it is killed off by the bake off. The baking won't guarantee (although it is likely) that all the bacteria will be killed. If pasteurised honey is used in the initial process, there isn't anything to worry about but it may be difficult to find the labels that will state what kind of honey is used. And yes, glazing the bread with honey is a whole different matter altogether. It is best just to wait a few months.

"According to the CDC, infants with botulism 'appear lethargic, feed poorly, are constipated, and have a weak cry and poor muscle tone,' which may 'progress to cause paralysis of the arms, legs, trunk and respiratory muscles.'
Although parents often know not to give their infants under twelve months of age plain honey, they often overlook other foods that contain honey in them, such as Honey Graham Crackers, Honey Nut Cheerios, Honey Wheat Bread, etc. Although the honey in these foods may be processed, it may not be pasteurized, and so may still contain botulism spores in them and should be avoided. If you feel strongly about giving these foods to your infant, call the manufacturer to make sure that they are safe."
 
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