Problems can arise if infants under a year old, or patients who are immune-compromised, ingest honey that contains spores of Clostridium botulinum bacteria. These spores are ubiquitous in soil and can be transferred to beehives by bees as they accumulate dust during foraging for pollen and nectar. Under the right conditions, such as the low oxygen environment found in the digestive tract, the spores can germinate into vegetative bacteria that can grow and multiply. As they do, they produce a protein, botulin, the most toxic substance known. One microgram can be lethal to a human!
For healthy people, this is not an issue because other bacteria present in the digestive tract overwhelm the botulin-producing ones in the competition for nutrients and prevent their excessive multiplication. However, in the case of infants, the bacterial flora in the gut are not sufficiently developed to crowd out Botulinum clostridium, setting up the possibility of botulin release. Infant botulism is very rare but is serious when it occurs. That is why infants under one year old should not be given honey, but there is no issue in the case of healthy children or adults. Pasteurization of honey affords no protection against infant botulism. Pasteurization involves heating honey to destroy yeasts that can result in the sugar in honey being fermented. It also prevents the honey from crystallizing but does not have an effect on bacterial spores.
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