At 11:17 AM 9/17/97 -0500, you wrote:
>I think this might of interest to all. It certainly was a surprise to me.
In the
>1997.09.13 issue of SCIENCE NEWS which I have just received, the first 'LETTER'
 
>>>>QUOTE:
>HEALTH RISK FROM HONEY?
> In regard to the letter about heathful honey (SN: 7/12/97, p.19), cases of
>infant botulism caused by ingestion of 'Clostridium botulinum' present in raw
>honeywere
 
As far as I understand the botulism problem, this is a problem for infants
under 1 year of age who have not obtained an adequate gut fauna to protect
them from various bacteria.  Once the fauna has been established, there is
little problem from this organis.
 
> I have for years suspected that raw honey may also be responsible for cases
>of visceral larval migrans (canine and feline roundworm in tissues other than
>the skin) in children for whom no other mode of infection has been determined.
 
This is the first time I have heard this infection occuring and if true,
should be looked at and may suggested to the CDC to look into this possibility.
 
>
>An editor's note followed the above:
>>>>QUOTE:
>Microbial contamination can indeed be a problem (the fungus that produces
>aflatoxin is a known culprit).
 
As for aflatoxins, Some fungi produce this material but I did not realize
that all fungi produce it.  As far as I know, there is only one group of
fungi (Zygomicete) that is adapted to grow on undiluted honey and that one
will not germinate from spores until the water concentration gets above 15%.
You may want to check references on this to be sure the data has not changed
over the years.
 
> Garon Smith was referring to trace metal
>contamination when he said that eating honey was safe.
>
 
As for heavy metal contamination, I doubt we are safe from this problem
reguardless of what we eat as long as we continue to accept the atmospheric
and water pollution that has been occuring in this country for decades.
 
     Think of what we might be getting from imported food from countries
that have less stringent controls than we do.  The last I heard, the FDA
still does not have enough money or personnel to adequately test imports.
US Companies are still producing and selling DDT to third world countries
from which we get produce.  Has anyone tested the cheap honey that was
flooding the market from China a year or so ago?
 
>Well people, all my life I have been led to think that honey was just the BEST,
>PURIST, SAFEST, MOST HEALTHFUL thing you could eat. But when I picked up on
bees
>hanging around the outhouse in a couple messages on the list recently,
 
    The high concentration of sugar in honey along with the production of
peroxides when it is diluted will take care of most infectious organisms, be
it from out houses or what ever.  The problem comes when the honey is heated
to over a 100 F which destroys the enzymes that produce the peroxides and is
far from the temperature that would destroy the harmful bacteria.  (Actually
100 F is pretty close to ideal for bacteria that might grow in humans.)
    Either you eat the raw honey that has not been heated above 90 F or you
put it in a sterilizer at 15 lb pressure for 20 minutes to make sure the
bacteria and spores are killed.  At that point you will probably be lucky to
still have the sugars intact.  In either case, you will still have the heavy
metals which probably do not do the bees any good either.
> AND THEN
>I come across this yesterday, I don't know what to think. Have we all been
blind
>to or ignoring possible dangers?
>
>
>Hartman B. Canon
>Home: 124 South Cochran Road
>      Geneva, FL 32732
>      (407)349-9229/9042
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