1. Wstęp. 2. Fizykochemiczne i przeciwdrobnoustrojowe właściwości miodu. 3. Mikroflora miodu. 4. Środowiskowe rezerwuary C. botulinum. 5. Proces wytwarzania miodu i drogi transmisji spor C. botulinum. 6. Metody oczyszczania miodu i ich wpływ na czystość mikrobiologiczną. 7. Miód jako czynnik ryzyka rozwoju botulizmu niemowląt. 8. Aspekty prawne. 9. Wytyczne dotyczące oznakowania miodu. 10. Zalecenia w sprawie ograniczenia zapadalności na botulizm niemowląt. 11. Podsumowanie

Abstract: Honey is a natural, sweet substance produced by honey bees Apis millifera. In spite of its antimicrobial properties, honey may contain certain microbes, most of which are harmless to humans. However, the presence of Clostridium botulinum in honey is considered a risk factor for infant botulism development. Infant botulism is a toxicoinfection occurring in infants under the age of one year, after C. botulinum spores consumption. This disease is extremely rare, however, in recent years there has been an increase in the number of infant botulism cases. According to CDC (Centres for Disease Control and Prevention) infant botulism constitutes 76% of all botulism cases and more than half occurs as a consequence of honey consumption. C. botulinum is easily transmitted from soil to blossom, pollen, surface of honey bees and then to honey. The Polish legal system states that any integral components cannot be excluded from honey during processing. However, it is impossible to eliminate the spores from honey without deactivating its enzymes or removing pollen. The EU together with CDC recommend that infants under one year of age should not be fed with honey. They obligate the companies to provide the consumer with the information about the risk of honey consumption by infants. In Poland, infant botulism is not registered, is underestimated and may be misdiagnosed as a sudden infant death syndrome. The producers of honey are not obligated to label honey with the proper information about the microbiological risk of its consumption by infants.

1. Introduction. 2. Physico-chemical and antimicrobial properties of honey. 3. Microbiology of honey. 4. Environmental reservoirs of C. botulinum. 5. Production of honey and its contamination routes with C. botulinum. 6. Methods of purification and their impact on microbiological safety of honey. 7. Honey as a risk factor for the infant botulism development. 8. Legal notes. 9. Labeling of honey. 10. Recommendations on the safety of honey consumption by infants. 11. Summary