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Foods to avoid before age 1

Most foods are on the table once your baby starts solids around 6 months. A short list is worth holding back until the first birthday (or handling carefully), and it is genuinely short. Here it is.

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HoneyNo honey before 12 months, cooked or raw. It can carry spores that cause infant botulism.

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Cow’s milk as a main drinkBreast milk or formula stays the main drink until 12 months. Dairy foods like yogurt and cheese are fine from around 6 months.

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Added saltBabies’ kidneys can’t handle much salt. Skip added salt and salty foods (stock cubes, processed meats, salty snacks).

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Added sugarNo nutritional need, and it sets up a sweet tooth. Skip sugary foods and drinks; let fruit be the sweet.

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Choking hazardsWhole nuts, whole or halved grapes, popcorn, hard raw vegetables, and large chunks. Modify the food, not the age (grind nuts, quarter grapes, cook veg soft).

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Unpasteurised & mould-ripened cheeseSkip unpasteurised cheeses and soft mould-ripened ones (like brie) for babies. Pasteurised, full-fat cheese is fine.

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High-mercury fishAvoid shark, swordfish, and king mackerel. Low-mercury fish like salmon is a great choice.

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Rice drinksDon’t use rice drinks as a milk substitute for under-fives, due to arsenic.

A note on choking

The theme with choking hazards is shape and firmness, not the food itself. You don’t have to wait: you modify. Grind or thin nuts into butters, quarter grapes lengthwise, cook carrots soft, and skip round, firm pieces. Always stay within arm’s reach at meals.

Why the sugar one matters

Added sugar is the easiest of these to wave off, but it may cast the longest shadow. A 2024 study in Science used the end of postwar sugar rationing as a natural experiment and found that limiting sugar in the first 1,000 days, from pregnancy through about age 2, was linked to roughly a 35 percent lower risk of type 2 diabetes and a 20 percent lower risk of high blood pressure in adulthood, with the benefit growing when the restriction continued past 6 months. Keeping added sugar low in the first year is worth more than it looks. See our full guide to sugar for babies and how to choose store-bought baby food.

What’s totally fine

The big 9 allergens are not on the avoid list. Current guidance is to introduce them early and keep them in the diet. Read the allergen guide →

Frequently asked questions

Can babies have honey?

No. Avoid honey (cooked or raw) before 12 months, because it can contain spores that cause infant botulism, a serious illness. After the first birthday it is fine.

When can babies have cow’s milk?

Cow’s milk can be used as a main drink from 12 months. Before then, breast milk or formula is the main drink, though dairy foods like yogurt and cheese are fine from around 6 months.

What are the main choking hazards for babies?

Whole nuts, whole or halved grapes, popcorn, hard raw vegetables, chunks of firm cheese or meat, and anything round and firm. Modify these (grind, quarter lengthwise, cook soft) rather than waiting.

Can babies have salt or sugar?

Keep both to a minimum. Babies’ kidneys can’t process much salt, and added sugar has no benefit. Season their food with herbs and let fruit provide sweetness instead. There is long-term evidence too: a 2024 study in Science found that limiting sugar in the first 1,000 days was linked to lower rates of type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure in adulthood.

Sources

Gracner et al., Science (2024): sugar rationing in the first 1000 days and lower adult risk of type 2 diabetes and hypertension (NIH National Institute on Aging summary)

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Last updated July 2026. Next review January 2027. How we write these: grounded in widely published pediatric guidance (the AAP, WHO, the NIAID 2017 allergen guidelines, and the LEAP study), and pending independent review by a pediatric professional. See our editorial and medical policy for how we research, source, and update these.

This is general information, not medical advice, and has not been individually reviewed for your baby. Always talk to your pediatrician about your baby's diet, introducing allergens, and any reaction. In an emergency, contact emergency services.

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