In the first year of growth, parents often introduce new types of food and also different food textures to their children. Honey has a soft sweet taste and is also good for health, which is why sometimes parents decide to mix honey into the baby food. But, did you know that actually babies under one year old should not consume honey including raw, organic honey or any type of honey due to the risk of poisoning?

Risk of Exposure to Infant Botulism

The main risk of introducing honey to infants under one year is exposure to infant botulism. Although these cases are rare, infants under one year old, especially those less than six months of age, are at highest risk of developing infant botulism.

Infant botulism is caused by the baby accidentally ingesting Clostridium botulinum spores found around including on the surface of ground and even spores in honey and products containing honey. Clostridium botulinum can produce neurotoxins that can cause poisoning it it came to the intestine and infect the digestive tract.

Don’t underestimate infant botulism as this is usually a serious condition. Most of the infants with botulism cases may require intensive care in hospital with a respirator longer than 20 days, although this rarely causes death, cases of botulism or poisoning due to ingestion of spores in honey remains to be watched out for.

What if a nursing mother wants to consume honey? If the mother is breastfeeding and wants to consume honey, the mother does not need to worry because infant botulism is not transmitted through breast milk.

Introducing Honey to Children Over 1 Year Old

After your child has passed his first birthday, you can begin to include honey in his food or drink.

When introducing honey as a new food, for children, you should add honey just a little and slowly. Do not rush to add it to every meal, you can wait for the reaction to occur after 4 days. If there is no problem or reaction, then you can add honey to other types of food and of course within reasonable limits. Use honey in smoothies or baby fruit pulp to make it sweeter and tastier so the baby can enjoy it.

Pure honey from Madurasa can also be introduced to children over one year old and is safe for consumption every day if no allergic reaction is found. If the fruit is poisoned or allergic after consuming pure honey, it’s a good idea for parents to immediately consult a doctor and temporarily stop giving honey.