Honey and Infant Botulism

Anonymous. Honey and infant botulism: second report. Bee World 64(4): 148-149. 1983. The occasional association of C botulinum spores with infant foods is no longer honey specific and not confined to honeys from the US.

Arnon, Stephen S., Midura, Thaddeus F., Damus, Karla, Thompson, Barbara, Wood, Ronald M. and Chin, James. Honey and other environmental risk factors for infant botulism. The Journal of Pediatrics 94(2):331-336. 1979. Reports on possible routes and vehicles for infant botulism identifying honey as an identified food source, but stressing ubiquitous distribution of spores and unavoidable and generally harmless exposure that they generally produce.

Arnon, S.S. Infant botulism. Annual Review of Medicine 31:541-560. 1980. Review on infant botulism based largely on work in the US.

Bentler, W. Frese, E. Mikrobielle Beschaffenheit und Ruckstandsuntersuchungen von Bienenhonig. Arch. Lebensmittelhygiene 32(4):130-135. 1981. Study of microorganisms in 56 honeys for sale in Germany found no C botulinum but related spores in some samples.

Brown, L.A. Infant botulism and the honey connection. The Journal of Pediatrics 94(2):337-338. Commentary on article by Arnon (1979).

Carr, C, MD. Infant botulism. Gleanings in Bee Culture May 1981: 254, 267. Stresses the serious nature of infant botulism and objects to claims that a honey-raw milk combination could cure botulism.

Center for Disease Control. Honey exposure and infant botulism. Morbid Mortal Weekly Report 27:249-250, 255. 1978. Center for Disease Control recommends honey not be fed to infants under one year of age.

Center for Disease Control. Follow-up on infant botulism - United States. Morbid Mortal Weekly Report 27:17-18, 23. 1978. California's data related to honey and infant botulism.

Chin, J., Arnon, S.S., Midura, T.F. Food and environmental aspects of infant botulism in California. The spores are widely distributed in soil and dust and occasional ingestion is an almost unavoidable aspect of living.

Cohn, V. Risk of botulism seen in feeding honey to infants under one year. Washington Post pp 1 and 7, 6 July 1978. Press release about facts from an association of honey producers.

Crane, E. Honey in relation in infant botulism. Bee World 60(4): 152-154. Report on recommendation by US specialists that honey should not be fed to infants less than a year old.

Flemig, R., Stojanowic, V. Untersuchungen von Bienenhonig auf Clostridium botulinum Sporen. Arch. Lebensmittelhygiene 31(5):179-180. 1980. 92 samples, mostly German, but some others, tested without detecting Clostridium botulinum spores.

Hartgen, H. Untersuchungen von Honigproben auf Botulinus-toxin. Arch. Lebensmittelhygiene 31(5):177-178. 1980. 210 samples, mostly German, but some others, tested without detecting Clostridium botulinum spores.

Huhtanen, C.N., Knox, D. and Shimanuki, H. Incidence and origin of Clostridium botulinum spores in honey. Journal of Food Protection 44(11): 812-814, 820. November 1981. Eighty honey samples were tested for Clostridium botulinum spores. All were negative by one method, five and six positive samples by two other testing methods, with some ambiguous results when these were retested by yet another method. Bees were experimentally innocculated with spores by feeding sugar-water solution. The spores were incorporated into honey produced.

Johnson, R.O., Clay, S.A. Arnon, S.S. Diagnosis and management of infant botulism. American Journal of Diseases of Children 133:586-593. Honey as the only food associated with infant botulism.

Kautter, D.A., Lilly, T., Solomon, H.M., Lynt, R.K. Clostridium botulinum spores in infant foods: a survey. Journal of Food Protection 45(11):1028-1029. 1982. Spores found in 2% of honey samples but 20% of corn syrup samples.

Midura, T.F. Laboratory aspects of infant botulism in California. Review of Infectuous Diseases 1(4):652-654. 1979. Honey as the only food associated with infant botulism, but also dust and soil.

Midura, T.F., Snowden, S., Wood, R.M., Arnon, S.S. Isolation of Clostridium botulinum from honey. Journal of Clinical Microbiology 9(2):282-283. 1979. Nine of 90 honey samples showed presence of spores, and 6 of the 9 had been fed to babies who developed botulism.

Mraz, Charles. Siftings. Gleanings in Bee Culture February 1981 p. 95. 1981. Suggests use of honey-goat's milk could be used to cure infant botulism better than antibiotics (?).

Rubenstein, Robert. Honey not the culprit in infant botulism cases. Gleanings in Bee Culture. Unknown issue, page 544. (1980?). Response from counsel of the Honey Industry Council to call for label regulations related to honey fed to infants less than one year old.

Sugiyama, H., Mills, Daniel C., Kuo, L-J. Cathy. Number of Clostridium botulinum spores in honey. Journal of Food Protection 41(11):848-850. 1978. Describes culturing method to detect spores in honey. Survey carried out found some spores of both type A and B.

Vorwohl, C. Honig und Sauglingsbotulismus. Allg. dt. Imkerztg 14(11):342-343. 1980. Summary of American findings.