Botulism, babies and bad advice
Amy and I don’t really disagree about much. But we can each get moody and self-absorbed and go after each other. Especially at the end of 20-hour drives. That’s about how long it takes to go from Manhattan (Kansas) to Guelph (Ontario) and at the end of one epic journey back from Guelph two years ago, tired and driving through Kansas City with a trailer full of my crap that I just had to have in Kansas, Amy decided to entertain herself by asking me, who are you to publish an opinion, or something like that.
I’ve always thought that academic-types had a responsibility to share their knowledge in a compelling manner with the public, rather than just complain about people’s opinions of things scientific and otherwise. But really, who the hell am I? Why should anyone listen? Or care?
I questioned myself for a couple of months and didn’t do much public stuf. Then I got over it. But I still question myself and try to do my homework.
I’m not so sure about Dr. Dave in the video below.
This is from some mommy television show in Canada that Ben sent me. It’s called, The Mom Show. In the clip below, Dr. Dave, appears to have no clue about botulism in babies less than a year old.
Clostridium botulinum can cause sickness in very young children, and infants under the age of 1 years old are most at risk. Honey may contain Clostridium botulinum spores that can grow in the digestive tract of children less than one-year-old because their digestive system is less acidic. The bacteria produces toxin in the body and can cause severe illness. Even pasteurized honey can contain botulism spores and should be not be given to children under the age of 12 months.
The advice is clear: do not give any honey to children less than one-year-old.
But maybe I don’t know what I’m talking about.
http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/admin/trackback/85334
I forwarded this post to the people who make The mom Show :) I think Doctor Dave needs to brush up on his Microbiology 101.
We pack about fifteen million pounds of honey annually (8 million kilos for those of you who have a decent set of measurement systems. Every bottle carries a warning about botulism. I haven't seen any of our competitors in the US without the same warning. Pasteurizing honey is not a control of C. bot, it's not nearly hot enough long enough to kill a spore.
You most certainly do know what you're talking about, at least on this issue. Infant botulism affects a baby's nervous system and can result in death. While working as an admissions clerk at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, I saw more than one infant admitted with symptoms of botulism after some dumb ass gave them honey. You just keep on preachin' the truth dude.