EEK! I let the boys have honey on accident!

I've given them toast a few times now, TOTALLY not thinking... but we buy honey wheat bread! I was looking at the ingredients, and duh- honey is listed! Does anyone know if honey baked in commercial bread is potentially dangerous? I'm sure it's rare to get botulism from honey anyways, but still.... I feel like a complete moron!

Thanks!

 

Relax! It's no big deal if the honey is heated to a certain temperature. Honey graham crackers, for example, are also OK because the baking process kills any spores.

I have no official source for that but I read it right here on twinstuff a few months back so it must be true!

:lol:

 

Don't panic!! It'll be ok!!!

 

QUOTE(JenniferTwinMomMinneapolis @ Mar 31 2008, 08:28 PM) [snapback]697348[/snapback]
I have no official source for that but I read it right here on twinstuff a few months back so it must be true!

:lol:


Lol- y'know, most times, that's all I need! And you're right, I think we should be ok, but it really scared me for awhile there- I couldn't believe I had been so unaware! :umm:

 

Cooked honey is generally considered safe because all the spores have died during the baking process.

 

I think the spores are pretty rare BUT...
cooking at "regular" cooking temperatures does not kill the spores.

You have to cook it to 250F for at least 3 minutes to kill the spores. This means using a pressure cooker or equivalent -- without it the honey will never reach that temperature (250F is hotter than "boiling point", which is only 212F).

I'm not sure how hot the commercial preparations get but I doubt they cook bread and graham crackers under pressure -- so to be on the safe side I try to read labels (like you I never checked the bread -- better check now I guess!).

 

QUOTE(poppan @ Mar 31 2008, 04:08 PM) [snapback]697665[/snapback]
I think the spores are pretty rare BUT...
cooking at "regular" cooking temperatures does not kill the spores.

You have to cook it to 250F for at least 3 minutes to kill the spores. This means using a pressure cooker or equivalent -- without it the honey will never reach that temperature (250F is hotter than "boiling point", which is only 212F).

I'm not sure how hot the commercial preparations get but I doubt they cook bread and graham crackers under pressure -- so to be on the safe side I try to read labels (like you I never checked the bread -- better check now I guess!).

Bread is generally cooked at 350F for about an hour. I'd say it's pretty safe.

 

Yeah, I did the same thing a couple weeks back. Freaked me out. I did some research and what I could find was the honey in baked goods is still a potential source of botulism (the cooking does not kill the spores), but the risk is small. (Much higher risk if you just fed them honey or dipped a pacifier in it). On the other hand, the research also said that the stomach acid to kill the spores is usually good enough between 9 and 11 months, but for safety's sake, the recommendation is 1 year.

Erica.

 

I think it's fine if it's in bread!

 

QUOTE(Her Royal Jennyness @ Mar 31 2008, 03:11 PM) [snapback]697668[/snapback]
Bread is generally cooked at 350F for about an hour. I'd say it's pretty safe.


The 350F is just the temperature of the air in the oven. The dough/bread itself does not reach 350F. At least that is what I read when I researched this question. For example you might roast a chicken at 350F but the chicken itself is considered "done" when it reaches an internal temperature of only 180F. So while the air around the chicken is 350F, the chicken itself doesn't get that hot, KWIM?

 

My husband and I got into a bit of a debate over honey this weekend and he did a ton of research. It turns out that the whole honey-botulism thing surfaced in the late 1970s after 16 children ages 6 - 20 weeks died from botulism poisoning (or just got sick from it, I can't remember). All the foods that these babies ate were studied... formula, rice cereal, juice, and honey. Three samples of honey had botulism. None of the other foods did. So, a link was made between honey and botulism. There was never a reason found for the botulism in the other 13 babies. Since then -- in the last twenty years -- there have been nine cases of confirmed botulism in infants under 1 year old.

Every doctor, every website, and every baby book say to avoid honey (some even say avoid it in baked goods while others say that baked goods are ok). It's all based on the 1978 research. I found that really interesting and thought maybe some of you would too.

PS. Even though the research is kind of old and only a few cases have ever been confirmed, I still don't give my kids honey.

 

Wow- I didn't realize I'd get such a wealth of information! Poppan- I never thought the baking process through like that... thanks for spelling that out for me! And Trish, I figured with all the massive labeling that the warnings would be based on more recent studies! That is all great to know! And most of all, (what I love most about TS-) is that you all remind me that I'm not alone!!!!!!!!! :friends: I think I feel relatively safe.... it was in fact in bread, not pure honey and at least heated to some degree. But thank you so much for your reassurance!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Just an update- if anyone's interested, I contacted Nature's Own- if you buy their honey wheat bread. They use unpasteurized honey and the internal temperature only gets to 202 degrees. So, avoid this one from now on!!!

 

[SIZE=10pt]Eeek!! I've been giving DS and DD honey graham crackers. Our pedi didn't say anything about it ~ and "bad mommy", I didn't research them :unsure:

I freaked out the other day though ~ I gave them Honey Nut Cheerios without even thinking about it. We were on vacation and the hotel had a Deluxe continental breakfast....I automatically got them some 'cheerios'. Luckily they each only had two ~ and I realized what they were. We haven't had any reactions (it's been 6 days) :good:

April [/SIZE]

 

FWIW, I always figured it didn't "count" if the honey was an ingredient in something baked. I do understand the argument about internal temperature, etc. but the risk just seemed so small, it wasn't worth worrying about.

 

I tried to avoid honey because of the whole botulism thing, but a couple of times I accidently gave it to them (graham crackers once, yogurt a couple of times) & they were fine. It really is very rare so I wouldn't worry about the times they had it & just avoid it in the future.