Accidentally given 7.5mo bread with small amount of honey IN it!

[Jen905]

Hi everyone,

I’ve just stupidly given my 7.5mo bread containing 3% honey! My husband usually buys plain wholemeal so I assumed it was the same loaf as usual; I also had a particularly chaotic start with my baby and her 2yo so carelessly didn’t check the label.

What is the chance of her becoming unwell from botulism? I really hope it’s extremely low. I have just asked ChatGPT (used it for the first time) which was slightly reassuring but I feel like even a tiny chance still feels huge when it comes to our DC. I suppose I’m asking here too to be talked down!

If it helps to know, she had a small amount. I gave her an untoasted strip like a soldier and she had eaten maybe a third of it. I am in England if that might be important too. Bread was from the supermarket.

Please be kind - I know I should have checked the label and can’t believe I didn’t! I am really struggling atm with postnatal depression and running on little sleep.

Thank you in advance.

Absolutely fine! I am sure even a bit of just honey from a jar would have been fine but the tiny trace of honey she’s had has been baked in a red hot bread oven! There won’t have been any nasties in it anyway but they would have been killed off by the heat.

Just keep an eye on her today as usual. She’ll be fine

Commercial bread is baked at temperatures between 230 and 260 centigrade. Your baby is absolutely safe.
I hope you are being properly supported with your PND.

It’s fine. The bread will have been baked for a reasonable amount of time at a temperature higher than that needed to kill the Clostridium botulinum spores.

All honey does not contain botulism anyway. So the honey warnings are OTT in general.
Plus, the bread has been cooked as PP said.
As with all warnings, consider the reason behind them before you panic!!

Please don't worry - i would have done the same and probably not even noticed it had honey in it.

NHS link below gives information on symptoms and reassures that food borne botulism is low risk in the UK due to food standards - the risk for your under 1 is related to potential spore consumption.

You could ring 111 who would be able to assess and probably have someone have a chat to you about any concerns.

Any symptoms as described below then A&E would be appropriate.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/botulism/

only an extremely small chance, so don't worry about it. Its one of those freak things that could happen, but its very rare, and I imagine as others have pointed out, even rarer if it a small amount of honey that has been baked onto a loaf

As a point of interest - 20 cases of infant botulism per year from honey in the States (poorer food standards there) . 100 cases of infant botulism in total per year.

So the chances of a child getting this from honey and it being fatal are miniscule.

(source: a very quick Google!!)

Goodness me - all these replies already! Thank you so much everyone. I really appreciate you taking the time to help reassure me.

For the PP who asked about PND, yes: I have contacted my GP who referred me for talking therapy in the first instance. Thank you.

Your baby will be fine. Try not to worry too much. Any risk is miniscule.

Your baby will be fine, please don't worry. Glad to hear you have contacted your GP x