A pediatrician receives a social-media post advising the use of raw honey as a natural sleep aid for infants under 6 months. Critically evaluate and select the best professional response to give to parents.

• A. Advise parents that raw honey should not be given to infants under 12 months because it can contain C. botulinum spores that may germinate in an infant's immature gut and cause infant botulism, which can lead to muscle weakness and respiratory failure.
• B. Tell parents to pasteurize raw honey at home by boiling to remove any spores before giving to infants since home boiling reliably sterilizes honey while preserving its sleep-aid properties.
• C. Recommend giving small amounts of raw honey to infants under 6 months because the naturally occurring sugars aid sleep and the risk of C. botulinum from honey is negligible for all age groups.
• D. Suggest diluting raw honey heavily with water and feeding it to infants because dilution inactivates any bacterial spores and eliminates the risk of infant botulism.

Answer: (A)