Kirsten Hansen, UC Master Food Preserver Online Program Volunteer
Image Credit: Kirsten Hansen, 2025.
I recently gave birth to my first child, which means that I left behind the many recommendations about what pregnant people should and should not eat and have entered the world of what infants should and should not eat. One very common recommendation is that infants under a year old should not eat honey, due to the risk of infant botulism. However, I was curious about what this meant: no spoonfuls of honey, of course, but what about baked goods with honey, or preserves that use honey as an alternative sweetener? I decided to do more research.
What is botulism?
Botulism is a serious disease caused by a neurotoxin created by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. C. botulinum occurs naturally as inactive spores that are ubiquitous in the environment, including soil, water, freshwater and marine sediments, the surfaces of fruits and vegetables, and in seafood. The spores themselves do not make people sick. Under certain conditions, however, the spores can germinate into vegetative bacterial cells and produce botulinum toxins, neurotoxins that attack the body’s nerves, causing muscle paralysis, difficulty breathing, and in severe cases, death (University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, 2018, p. 5-3). Botulinum toxins (there are several variants) are among the most poisonous biological substances known.
Home food preservers worry most about foodborne botulism, in which the neurotoxin is produced by C. botulinum under the following conditions:
- Anaerobic (low or no-oxygen) environment
- Low acid (above 4.6 pH)
- High moisture
- Temperature between 40° - 120°F
- Low salt (Centers for Disease Control, 2024)
These are exactly the conditions inside a low-acid (i.e., pH < 4.6) food product in storage in a canning jar. If C. botulinum spores are present in a low-acid food product (given their prevalence, we must assume they are) and are not completely destroyed by high-temperature processing (i.e., pressure canning), the spores can germinate into active vegetative cells and generate botulinum toxins. The risk of foodborne botulism is eliminated when safe food preservation techniques are used, which is why the Master Food Preservers program puts so much emphasis on using safe, tested recipes and adhering to the specified processing times for preserving food.
Infant botulism
In the U.S., 200 - 250 cases of botulism are reported annually, of which 60 - 70% involve infant botulism (CDC National Botulism Surveillance System). Infant botulism is completely different from the foodborne botulism that affects adults and older children. Infant botulism typically affects infants under 12 months of age but is most common in those under 2 months of age. It occurs when infants ingest C. botulinum spores that then germinate, colonize, and produce neurotoxin within the infant's intestinal tract. (Clostridium Botulinum & Botulism | Food Safety and Inspection Service, n.d.). It is not definitely known why infants are more susceptible to the germination of C. botulinum spores and subsequent proliferation of the bacterium in the gut than are healthy adults. In the past, the increased susceptibility of infants was thought to be due to the higher pH of infant gastrointestinal (GI) tracts than in adults, but it’s not clear that’s true. The current leading hypothesis is that infants lack the robust microbial community present in the GI tracts of healthy adults. C. botulinum is not a strong competitor for food resources in the presence of an established microbial community, which infants lack. This lack of competitors is thought to allow C. botulinum to proliferate. In short, infants’ gastrointestinal (GI) tracts are not mature enough to fight off the inactive C. botulinum spores and bacteria that adults and older children can handle, and the neurotoxin can develop from the bacteria that emerge as the spores break dormancy. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the American Academy of Pediatrics all recommend that honey not be fed to infants under one year of age, and that fruits and vegetables should be washed before consumption (which, frankly, is good advice for everyone!) (Clostridium Botulinum & Botulism | Food Safety and Inspection Service, n.d.)
Unfortunately, most cases of infant botulism do not have a clear origin. Recent research has found that most cases of infant botulism occur when infants swallow microscopic dust particles that carry C. botulinum spores. (Harris & Dabritz, 2024, 305). Honey is a known but secondary cause. (California Department of Public Health, 2022). Although, we can’t stop infants from swallowing tiny bits of dust, we can refrain from feeding them honey, so the recommendation to avoid honey under a year old stands.
What about pasteurization?
Raw honey is not safe for infants, but I wondered about pasteurization. Unfortunately, the process used by the honey industry to pasteurize honey is not enough to deactivate the spores that can ultimately result in the production of botulinum neurotoxins. Per Romeo Toledo, a food scientist with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, honey must be heated to 250°F for a minimum of three minutes to destroy C. botulinum spores. Because this temperature burns honey and changes the flavor, industrial honey is heated to a lower temperature for longer. This destroys molds and common yeasts, but not C. botulinum spores. (Omahen, 2002). I found an article from 2002 that described a new sterilization technique developed by the University of Georgia that destroys C. botulinum spores (Omahen, 2002) but I could not find any information about the degree to which the honey industry has adopted the new procedure. Without further evidence, pasteurized honey must be considered unsafe for infants.
What about home preserved foods and baked goods?
Home preserved foods rely on several methods to make them safe. High-acid foods (below pH 4.6), such as pickles and jams, can be processed in a hot water canner because the acidity, heat, and processing time combine to destroy food spoilage organisms. However, hot water canners only reach temperatures of 212°F (the boiling point of water at sea level, boiling temperatures decrease with increasing elevation), but C. botulinum spores survive to temperatures of 240°F. Although C. botulinum spores can survive the hot water canning process, their growth is inhibited by the acidity and/or low water activity of foods that can be safely processed in a water-bath or atmospheric steam canner (University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, 2018, p. 4-2). This means they are safe for adults, but not for infants! Items such as jams that use honey as an alternative sweetener should not be fed to infants.
Low-acid foods (above 4.6 pH), such as vegetables, soups, and meats, must be processed in a pressure canner, which uses pressure to heat food above 212°F. In this case, heat and time (but not necessarily acid) combine to make foods safe. At sea level, foods that are processed in a pressure canner at 10 psig reach 240°F, the temperature at which C. botulinum spores are destroyed. (University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, 2018, 5-2). (Because water boils at a lower temperature at higher elevations, higher pressures are needed to reach spore-inactivating temperatures if one is canning in a location more than 1000’ above sea level.) Nevertheless, as discussed above, such high temperatures burn honey and ruin the flavor, so pressure canning is not a suitable method for honey preservation.
I could not find specific information about honey in baked goods, but most baked goods never reach temperatures above 212°F, so C. botulinum spores can survive. Recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Center for Disease Control advise avoiding all forms of honey, including in baked goods and industrial products such as cereals for infants under a year old (Stanford et al., 2013).
In conclusion
Honey is safe (and delicious!) for adults and children over a year old. However, due to the risk of infant botulism it should be avoided in all forms for infants under a year old. All fruits and vegetables should be thoroughly washed before consumption.
References
Abdulla, C., Ayubi, A., Zulfiquer, F., Santhanam, G., Ahmed, M. A. S., & Deeb, J. (2012, July). Infant botulism following honey ingestion. BMJ Case Rep ., 2012(bcr1120115153). PubMed. 10.1136/bcr.11.2011.5153
California Department of Public Health. (2022, March). Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Infant Botulism. California Department of Public Health. Retrieved July 20, 2025, from https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/CDPH%20Document%20Library/FAQs_English_Updated_March2022_ADA.pdf
Centers for Disease Control. (2024, April 18). About Botulism | Botulism. CDC. Retrieved July 20, 2025, from https://www.cdc.gov/botulism/about/index.html
Centers for Disease Control, National Botulism Surveillance System. Case Reporting data for 2017 - 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/botulism/php/national-botulism-surveillance/index.html. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
Food Safety and Inspection Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. (n.d.). Clostridium botulinum & Botulism | Food Safety and Inspection Service. Food Safety and Inspection Service. Retrieved July 20, 2025, from https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/foodborne-illness-and-disease/illnesses-and-pathogens/botulism
Harris, R. A., & Dabritz, H. A. (2024). Infant Botulism: In Search of Clostridium botulinum Spores. Current Microbiology, 81(10), 306. PubMed. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-024-03828-0
Omahen, S. (2002, September 05). New Process Makes Honey Safe For Infants. CAES Newswire. Retrieved July 20, 2024, from https://newswire.caes.uga.edu/story/1460/safer-honey.html
Sanford, M. T, et al. (2013), “Infant Botulism and Honey: ENY-128 AA142, 6 2013. EDIS 2013(6). Gainesville, FL. https://doi.org/10.32473/edis-aa142-2013. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. (2018). Fundamentals of Consumer Food Safety and Preservation: Master Handbook. UC Master Food Preserver Program. 9781627110211