How Safe is Raw Honey?

Do you take yours straight from the hive?

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

While the idea of honey straight from the hive and milk straight from the cow has great appeal, I’ve always been way too leery of microbes to mess with that. Pasteurization all the way for me. But it turns out honey doesn’t need to be pasteurized, a word that  has no technical meaning in reference to honey since heating it doesn’t provide any food safety advantage. As it happens, foodborne pathogens can’t survive in honey, so it means it’s okay for even immune-compromised people. Interestingly, however, yeast can survive in honey which is great because that causes the fermentation leading to mead.
 
The only caution around honey is for people who have allergies or sensitivities to bee pollen. And babies. Babies shouldn’t have it at all – even a taste – before 12 months of age because “Honey can cause a rare but serious gastrointestinal condition (infant botulism caused by exposure to Clostridium botulinum spores.” The spore bacteria can grow and multiply in a baby’s intestines which produces the  dangerous toxin responsible for infant botulism.
 
If you’ve noticed a disconnect between honey being anti-microbial while still, somehow, leading to toxins for babies, I don’t blame you. You can see how the science of it works here.
 
A warm fare-thee-well til’ next time,
 
E