I have heard that you should not give honey to children under the age of 1 as there is a risk of botulism spores in the honey. Apparently the spores do not affect adults. I also heard that syrups are not safe.

Does anyone know for certain what the safe age is? And what about maple syrup or other syrups?

What if the honey is pasterized?

By Boxzgrl on Sunday, April 3, 2005 - 06:50 pm:

Kaitlyn will be 2 next month and I just started introducing it a few months ago. I'm not sure what age is "recommended" though. If I had to guess i'd say after 1?

By Ginny~moderator on Sunday, April 3, 2005 - 06:53 pm:

About honey, the Mayo clinic says not under 12 months, and gives reasons:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/invoke.cfm?id=HQ00854

If the maple syrup has not been pasteurized or otherwise thoroughly heated and then sealed or kept carefully refrigerated, I'd also stay away from it. Of course, the process of making syrup involves high heats, but I think what happens after the heating is also important in terms of worrying about bacteria. So it is probably OK if you buy it in a supermarket, but I wouldn't be comfortable about home-made from a roadside stand.

By Reds9298 on Sunday, April 3, 2005 - 07:17 pm:

My ped just told us not before 12mths...along with peanut butter and some limits on eggs.