Aleksandar Mihajlovski wrote:

> In my recent conversation with microbiologist from our university he
> categorically said that for Clostridium botulinum spore to be activated is
> necessary to have temperature of 70 Celsius.
>
> So, in unheated honey nor in human organism (children also), spore cannot
> be activated (even if present).

http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~ebam/bam-17.html

Plus a lot in the archives.

Good info on botulism including infant botulism. Not one word about any
temperature needed for activation. Instead, lots about it being able to
thrive at low temperatures, including refrigeration.

Children below 1 year old do not have a mature digestive system so the
spores can produce toxin in their guts. Honey, along with a lot of other
foods, can contain the spores which produce toxin, so it is not a good
idea to feed them anything (other than breast milk) that is not
processed to kill the spores. Common sense.

We can handle the spores. It is the toxin produced in food that can kill us.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
-- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and  other info ---
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::