Trevor Weatherhead wrote:
 
>Here in Australia this question was also raised a few years ago.  The point at
>the time was that infants under one year old were at risk and should be not
>feed honey.
>
>It was never ever really conclusively proved to be the case but the reply the
>industry used was, I think, a good response.  It was:-
>
>If there is the slightest risk of anything happening to infants under one year
>of age by feeding honey, DON'T.  They will have the rest of their life to
>enjoy the great taste of honey.
 
******
 
   In her 1990 book, BEES AND BEEKEEPING, Eva Crane wrote (p. 408):
 
"There have been discussions of infant botulism in relation to honey,
especially in California, from 1976 onwards.  The causative bacterium,
CLOSTRIDIUM BOTULINUM, is very common in soils, and Californian soil is one
of the most highly contaminated in the world [with the bacterium].  A 1982
survey of infant food identified the bacterium also in corn syrup, so it is
unlikely to have any specific relationship with bees or bee products
(Crane, 1979b; 1983b; Huhlanen, 1987). Surveys of honeys from some other
countries have shown no trace of the toxin, e.g., France (Colin et al.,
1986) and Norway (Hetland, 1986)."
 
                                                        Adrian
 
Adrian M. Wenner                         (805) 893-2838 (UCSB office)
Ecol., Evol., & Marine Biology           (805) 893-8062  (UCSB FAX)
Univ. of Calif., Santa Barbara           (805) 963-8508 (home office & FAX)
Santa Barbara, CA  93106
 
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