JMO
Now that would be a breath of fresh air!
Pediatricians call for choke proof hot dog.
Now, the American Academy of Pediatrics wants foods like hot dogs to come with a warning label — not because of their nutritional risks but because they pose a choking hazard to babies and children.
Better yet, the academy would like to see foods such as hot dogs "redesigned" so their size, shape and texture make them less likely to lodge in a youngster's throat. More than 10,000 children under 14 go to the emergency room each year after choking on food, and up to 77 die, says the new policy statement, published online today in Pediatrics. About 17% of food-related asphyxiations are caused by hot dogs.
Aye Yi Yi!! so if 17% of the 77 children die choking on hot dogs that means 13 kids a year die choking on hot dogs. 13, and the industry needs to redesign them? This, IMO, is just another knee jerk reaction to a very small problem.
Though Smith says he doesn't know exactly how someone would redesign a hot dog, he's certain that some savvy inventor will find a way.
Janet Riley, president of the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council, supports the academy's call to better educate parents and caregivers about choking prevention. "Ensuring the safety of the foods we service to children is critically important for us," Riley says.
But Riley questions whether warning labels are needed. She notes that more than half of hot dogs sold in stores already have choking-prevention tips on their packages, advising parents to cut them into small pieces. "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 says.
The package of "Ball Park Franks" I have in my fridge says "For children under 5 cut lengthwise and slice" It's in very fine print but it's there. The only thing they MIGHT need to do, IMO, is to increase the size of the message.