Q&A: Should the government legislate the size and shape of a hot dog?
Posted by James on July 31, 2011 · 12 Comments
Question by The Fed Up Matthew™: Should the government legislate the size and shape of a hot dog?
Yes this is a serious question believe it or not.
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Pediatricians call for a choke-proof hot dog
Nutritionists have long warned of the perils of hot dogs: fat, sodium and preservatives to name a few.
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.
“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,” says statement author Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. “I’m a pediatric emergency doctor, and to try to get them out once they’re wedged in, it’s almost impossible.”
The Consumer Product Safety Commission requires labels on toys with small parts alerting people not to give them to kids under 3. Yet there are no required warnings on food, though more than half of non-fatal choking episodes involve food, Smith says.
“No parents can watch all of their kids 100% of the time,” Smith says. “The best way to protect kids is to design these risks out of existence.”
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 Food and Drug Administration, which has authority to recall products it considers “unfit for food,” plans to review the new statement, spokeswoman Rita Chappelle says.
Given the health risks of obesity, pediatrician Alan Greene, author of Feeding Baby Green, says, “The last thing we need is to redesign candy and junk food with cool shapes, so we can give them to kids even younger.”
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-02-22-1Achoke22_ST_N.htm
Best answer:
Answer by Bergit O
Ohhh that is the wurst – you brat! Ha ha!
Actually, it is despicable that a country who has the finest foods in the world resorts to eating crap and becomes a nation of fat, out of shape people.
Add your own answer in the comments!
good god. hot dogs are definitely more important than whatever else is going on.
what are they going to spend $17.9 million dollars on research? oi vay.
So you’re for choking children. Good position to take. Don’t let them tell you how many children should die. We’re America, Damn it!!!
What about meatballs?
Maybe Libs could just genetically alter the shape of kids’ throats.
Wouldn’t that be better?
Here’s an opportunity for the free market to shine, rather than gov’t regulation.
Re-design the hot dog and sell it as an improvement, and at a higher price too!
How about we don’t give hot dogs to kids. Or adults, or dogs, or pretty much anyone you love and care about.
Is it not the parents job to cut up children’s food so they don’t choke?
If there is a serious health risk, it should be addressed, by regulation if necessary, but preferably in other ways. Perhaps a lawsuit or two would do the trick — if the manufacturers know there is a problem and do not address it, they get their red-hot pants sued off. Actually, ideally the possibility of a suit should do it.
Well I guess this admin will do a commission then a hot dog summit to decide what to do then have all hot dog vendors be members of SEIU .
Once all hot dog vendors become members of SEIU then they will be left alone those that do not join SEIU will be charged a Gov fine for not being part of SEIU.
Next will come the M`c nugget bill to legislate the size of each M`c nugget and all chickens must be choked in certain way as set out by SEIU and Peta.
Those caught choking there chickens wrong will be fined by Fed Gov.
yikes…this is beyond stupid ! do these dumbells realize they are cutting down on their income.that is just a joke for all the lib dopes out there..wow,the nanny obama state is here. I did not know babies or dumb kids could read hot dog labels.you know ..if their parents are that stupid..so be it ! crown royal…yes, less dumb lib voters…
No if parents taught their kids to chew, and when they are real little cut them up everything would be okay. Government is treading on the sacred food with this, stay away from Apple Pie and hot dogs as they already got Chevy
Obama is also spending $170,000 to have research done to see who offers a thicker ketchup. I thought that is what Consumer Reports was for.
His next research project should be to see who has the bigger mouth: His wife or Jeremiah Wright.