I just bought a squeeze bottle of honey for my tea, and on the label is this warning:
"Unsuitable for infants under 12 months."
I can just see somebody handing the bottle to their six-month old baby, saying "here, Honey, put this on your pancakes."
kronostar said...
Honey can be harmful to babies undeveloped immune system. Before I thought it was just they could get allergies, but from the linked article it seems that the honey could be deadlier. Of course got to wonder how much of it is hype...
Alex said...
We took precautions with honey and nuts on our kids. We also did the phased introduction of foods too. Paranoia is certainly great, especially in these days of increased awareness and learning. There are a few kids in the school have nut allergies, and a neighbours kid had allergies to heaps of stuff, barely a thing he could eat.
Honey is best on toast, or mead, or in rosehip tea.
Robert Kits van Heyningen said...
Having had 2 children, I can confirm that honey can be dangerous to infants. Once their immune system is developed then it's fine. I wonder if this is a recent thing or has always been so.
15 comments:
Besides, what kind of savage would put honey on their pancakes?! I mean, it's gross enough putting it in your tea! ;-)
Heck, I put it on my porridge, in my underwear, in my shoes, in my OJ...
The best one I saw was on a packet of Sainsbury's honey roast cashew nuts:
"Warning - may contain nuts"
It's the "may" that really gets me...
What next? Caution the air you are breathing may contain: Nitrogen, Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide, and noble gases in varying proportions. If you are allergic to any of these cease breathing immediately and seek medical attention.
Maybe the manufacturer is aware that the diameter of the squeeze bottle is too wide to fit in the hand of a 12 month old infant, hence it being unsuitable for them. It's nice of them to warn the customer about this potential problem with grippage.
I'm not a pancake geek but isn't it maple syrup you're supposed to put on those? In Canada at least. I guess here in Europa we substitute honey.
"I mean, it's gross enough putting it in your tea! ;-)"
I admire your connoisseurness on this important subject, but honey, in my opinion, is an acceptable additive to tea -- possibly the only one. Although I personally prefer to drink mine plain most of the time.
In Canada and the U.S. at least, maple syrup is the only way to go. I've actually never heard of anyone putting honey on pancakes. (It's no weirder than the Dutch, who put mayo on their french fries - which sounded gross to me until I tried it!) It's not like it's not available in Europe... I know people who do put honey in their tea, but here sugar is the norm. I don't drink tea or coffee, though, so for me is not an issue.
ttp://homecooking.about.com/od/foodhealthinformation/a/honeyhealth.htm
Honey can be harmful to babies undeveloped immune system. Before I thought it was just they could get allergies, but from the linked article it seems that the honey could be deadlier. Of course got to wonder how much of it is hype...
I think we need a definition on Pancake here too.
In the UK it would refer to something almost crepe like, unless it was a "Scotch pancake" which is like a silver dollar pancake, but sold in packs of a dozen in the bread aisle to drop into your toaster, and spread with strawberry jam.
Personally pancakes (crepe like) merit golden syrup, a sort of sugar syrup you can only buy in Brit shops or Cost Plus in the US. Lemon juice and sugar is also good.
I like Nutella on my crepes, and for my American/Scandinavian pancakes/flap jacks I like maple syrup.
We took precautions with honey and nuts on our kids. We also did the phased introduction of foods too. Paranoia is certainly great, especially in these days of increased awareness and learning. There are a few kids in the school have nut allergies, and a neighbours kid had allergies to heaps of stuff, barely a thing he could eat.
Honey is best on toast, or mead, or in rosehip tea.
Any sane person would put mayo on chips/fries. If you think it's disgusting, then you're either confusing "mayo" with something retarded like "salad cream", or your tastebuds are underdeveloped. You see folks, mayo is made from eggs, oil and vinegar. And a bit of seasoning if you will. In the UK, I've come across mayo that included flour and god damned vegetable stock! I wouldn't touch that with a 10 foot pole, let alone drown my chips in it!
And honey, well now, that's just a gift from the gods!
Having had 2 children, I can confirm that honey can be dangerous to infants. Once their immune system is developed then it's fine. I wonder if this is a recent thing or has always been so.
Anonymous, you're a fucking moron. I said I thought it was disgusting until I tried it - which means I liked it. Fucking idiot. Go kill yourself.
Jeepers, Joe, aren't you cranky today.
I guess. It bothers me when people can't be bothered to read what I've written, or misinterpret when the meaning is perfectly clear. It also bugs me that this guy can't sign a name when he attempts to insult people.
A better policy is probably not to respond, but oh well - too late now.
Once their immune system is developed then it's fine.
This is what Wikipedia says about it:
Due to the natural presence of botulinum endospores in honey, children under one year of age should not be given honey. The more developed digestive systems of older children and adults generally destroy the spores. Infants, however, can contract botulism from honey.
It's weird how I had never heard of this risk about honey. And I thought it was only because today there's a great probability that it be contaminated by pesticides.
Perhaps, as Robert suggests, it's a recent thing, regardless of the cause. In a traditional country like Lebanon, if honey was harmful to infants, our slightly paranoid folk wisdom would surely mention it.
(It claims that milk and fish in a single meal is terribly dangerous! Because a famout poet died after trying it.)
Nuts are risky for kids who can't yet chew and swallow correctly, because the tiny bits may be inhaled and cause local bronchitis. I've seen it: endoscopic removal is sometimes the only solution. Not a very pleasant childhood experience.
It is a generally admitted fact that the huge numbers and quantities of chemical pollutants in our environment, and ending up in our food, water and air, are responsible for the dramatic rise in sterility, cancer, auto-immune diseases and multiple allergies. It would really seem that Aspartame is terribly risky to consume.
Damn! When did we stop eating FOOD and start swallowing raw (or refined) chemicals?
Wonko,
It's not exagerated. You'd better leave the asylum immediately for a safer place!
Chef Joe Dick enlightened us:
"In Canada and the U.S. at least, maple syrup is the only way to go. I've actually never heard of anyone putting honey on pancakes."
So, would chocolate spread (like Nutella) be utter heresy?
[Whining] But it's so good!
Sgt. Hartman,
Thanks for the insights. Now I'm wiser, and that's always good.
Wikipedia is one of the great things about this third millenium! :-)
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