http://www.nacsonline.com/NACS/News/Daily/Pages/ND0223108.aspx
Pediatricians Call For a Choke-Proof Hot Dog
About one out of every six food-related asphyxiations in children is caused by hot dogs, a statistic that The American Academy of Pediatrics would like to help change.
MCLEAN, Va. The American Academy of Pediatrics released a statement requesting that hot dogs come with a warning label for the choking hazards they pose to babies and children, USA Today reports.
Ideally, the academy said that they would like to see hot dogs redesigned so that their size, shape, and texture make them less likely to pose a choking hazard in the first place. Each year, more than 10,000 children under 14 years of age visit emergency rooms because of choking incidents, and up to 77 die, according to the policy statement published online earlier this week in
Pediatrics. And roughly 1 out of 6 food-related asphyxiations are caused by hot dogs.
If you were to take the best engineers in the world and try to design the perfect plug for a child's airway, it would be a hot dog, said statement author Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital Columbus, Ohio.
Im a pediatric emergency doctor, and to try to get them out once they're wedged in, its almost impossible...No parents can watch all of their kids 100% of the time," Smith said. "The best way to protect kids is to design these risks out of existence."
Janet Riley, president of the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council, supports the academys stance about improving education for parents and caregivers about choking prevention. "Ensuring the safety of the foods we service to children is critically important for us," Riley said.
However, Riley questioned whether warning labels are helpful, noting that more than half of hot dogs sold in stores already include choking-prevention tips on their packaging.
"As a mother who has fed toddlers cylindrical foods like grapes, bananas, hot dogs and carrots, I 'redesigned' them in my kitchen by cutting them with a paring knife until my children were old enough to manage on their own," Riley said.
The Food and Drug Administration said that it plans to review the statement.
I LOVE Ms. Riley's quote I bolded above. I'm sure they will spend millions of our tax money to research this anyway. How about cutting them lengthwise? I'm sure our goverment will wind up redesigning childrens mouths rather then letting Mom handle it
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD - THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!!! - The new mantra?
Pediatricians Call For a Choke-Proof Hot Dog
About one out of every six food-related asphyxiations in children is caused by hot dogs, a statistic that The American Academy of Pediatrics would like to help change.
MCLEAN, Va. The American Academy of Pediatrics released a statement requesting that hot dogs come with a warning label for the choking hazards they pose to babies and children, USA Today reports.
Ideally, the academy said that they would like to see hot dogs redesigned so that their size, shape, and texture make them less likely to pose a choking hazard in the first place. Each year, more than 10,000 children under 14 years of age visit emergency rooms because of choking incidents, and up to 77 die, according to the policy statement published online earlier this week in
Pediatrics. And roughly 1 out of 6 food-related asphyxiations are caused by hot dogs.
If you were to take the best engineers in the world and try to design the perfect plug for a child's airway, it would be a hot dog, said statement author Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital Columbus, Ohio.
Im a pediatric emergency doctor, and to try to get them out once they're wedged in, its almost impossible...No parents can watch all of their kids 100% of the time," Smith said. "The best way to protect kids is to design these risks out of existence."
Janet Riley, president of the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council, supports the academys stance about improving education for parents and caregivers about choking prevention. "Ensuring the safety of the foods we service to children is critically important for us," Riley said.
However, Riley questioned whether warning labels are helpful, noting that more than half of hot dogs sold in stores already include choking-prevention tips on their packaging.
"As a mother who has fed toddlers cylindrical foods like grapes, bananas, hot dogs and carrots, I 'redesigned' them in my kitchen by cutting them with a paring knife until my children were old enough to manage on their own," Riley said.
The Food and Drug Administration said that it plans to review the statement.
I LOVE Ms. Riley's quote I bolded above. I'm sure they will spend millions of our tax money to research this anyway. How about cutting them lengthwise? I'm sure our goverment will wind up redesigning childrens mouths rather then letting Mom handle it
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD - THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!!! - The new mantra?
