Finally, honey. The concern with honey is that it could lead to infant botulism. Infant botulism is a serious disease—basically, a toxin interferes with neurological functions, including affecting the infant’s ability to breathe. It is most common under the age of six months and it is treatable, with a very high success rate. Still, the treatment is not easy: the baby typically needs to be hooked up to a breathing machine for a few days until they are able to breathe on their own again. The toxin that causes this, Clostridium botulinum, is found in soil and elsewhere, including in honey.
