[ocba] "Honey A Better Option For Childhood Cough Than Over The Counter Medications"

Tom Wright twright at vicksburg.com
Tue Dec 4 17:54:56 EST 2007


Buck Horton wrote:

>Just wanted to remind folks that children under 1 year of age shouldn't 
>eat honey, because it can carry spores that cause infant botulism.
>- Buck
>
>Jeff Bollinger wrote:
>  
>
>>Interesting article that shows some USDA National Honey Board funded
>>studies have proven that honey is often better than cough syrup:
>>
>>http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071203164750.htm
>>
>>
>>  
>>    
>>
>>>The study found that a small dose of buckwheat honey given before bedtime provided better relief of nighttime cough and sleep difficulty in children than no treatment or dextromethorphan (DM), a cough suppressant found in many over-the-counter cold medications
>>>    
>>>      
>>>
>>This would be a good article to print out and keep with you when selling
>>your honey!   :)
>>
>>Jeff
>>_______________________________________________
>>ocba mailing list
>>North Carolina Beekeeping
>>http://www.theocba.org/
>>  
>>    
>>
>_______________________________________________
>ocba mailing list
>North Carolina Beekeeping
>http://www.theocba.org/
>
>
>
>  
>
This seems to have been around for ages but I have never been able to 
document botulism from honey, in babies or otherwise.

I think it is an urban legend and anecdotal. Botilinum spores are 
everywhere...in the air, soil, and food that you eat. You ingest or 
inhale some daily without harm. You don't need or have antibodies as the 
acid in the stomach destroys them.

The problem occurs primarily with home-canned low- acid food, such as 
meat, beans, greens, etc. High-acid such as tomatoes and pickles are OK. 
In the old days a lot of canning was done in hot water baths or the 
oven. This won't do it because it takes pressure cooking to get the 
temperature high enough to kill the spores. With a low or neutral pH 
under anaerobic conditions the spores germinate and produce botulinum 
toxin. The toxin is destroyed by heat which is why  it is prudent to 
cook canned meat or veggies rather than eating directly from the can 
(even commercially canned things). That is why your grandmother told you 
not to open cans with bulging tops and/or bottoms.

Tes, honey and just about everything else contains the spores.

IMHO, I suspect that once upon a time someone decided that to be safe, 
FDA required the warning on honey labels and it has been there ever since..

Harry, any thoughts on this?

Tom
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