Choking warning urged for food labels

[bettymae1121]

I think this is an issue you can probably split the difference on.

Should warning lables for choking hazards for food be mandated by law? Probably not. But should food companies put warning lables on higher risk foods voluntarily? I think they should.

 

[Mrs. Charming]

Can we say that on the Dis?

I just edited it, I didn't feel like being torn another you-know-what. In real life, yes, I would say it, and loudly!

I live near an area that is beyond poor, it's a miracle these children are still alive. I'm not quite sure how.

 

[krcit]

I'm really suprised at some of these posts. I don't know why, I've been around here long enough to know better but it still suprises me. The people that I know of who lost their young child(while at WDW) are not 'morons'. They simply didn't realize that their child could choke right in front of their very eyes on a hotdog. Maybe their parents always gave them hotdogs, maybe their poor child had eaten a 100 hotdogs before. Whatever the case, I'm sure that they beat themselves up everyday because their lack of knowledge led to their childs death. Would the outcome be different if the stupid hotdog had been labeled Who knows but if stories like this raise awareness then great. Maybe a new parent will see it and have a lightbulb moment and realize that these things can be dangerous.

 

[PRmamiDEdos]

So you think a label on their favorite bag of chips will stop the obesity problem. I think they will not read it, open the bag and chow down.

On the hotdogs' label, what if the parent either can't read the label? What do you do now?

And will the label only be in one language? Most people in my neighborhood don't speak English! How will they know to not feed their children a whole hot dog?? Is it fair to the non-English speaking masses (yes masses, especially in my area) to not include the warning in every language?

 

[PeterPan09]

You could put a warning on every product warning of every conceivable danger-and it wouldn't solve anything. There would still be stupid people out there, and sadly, those stupid people would still have children that would be at risk.

There is a point where some level of personal responsibility has to enter into life.

 

[luvsJack]

I completely agree.

What you posted before you changed it, is extremely sad. We are talking about children. Must be nice to be so smug and sure of yourself. It would be a sad, sad day if you lost one of your children to something like that or would you want some of us to say it was just "natural selection".

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

So, by your train of thought its better to do nothing and not warn that 18 year old with the toddler not to give her child a hot dog? Really?

I mean because our not being frustrated by one more label is so much more important than that child's life, right?

Parents make mistakes every day. Labels don't keep parents from feeding their kids unhealthy breakfast cereal every morning. Think of all of the ridiculously unhealthy things that parents do or allow their children to do, even though products are labeled or other communication is clear about the destructive properties of these things.

IMO, you can label these things until the cows come home. It will not matter...

 

[wdwfan16]

Right for 95% of parents, the label wouldn't make a difference. A lot of parents probably knowingly feed their children "danger" foods, probably for a whole bunch of reasons.
But there are people who don't know that a diet of ramen, chicken nuggets, and chocolate milk do not a healthy child make. Just like there are people who don't know a hot dog should be cut in half before being given to a toddler.
Education doesn't hurt the people who choose to ignore it, and it can save the people who pay attention.

We have had nutrition labels on food for as long as I remember and we have more obesity now than ever. If this education raises the price of food how much more would you like to pay.

I babysat but I was never told to not stuff the kids mouth. It just was natural to cut up the food.

An adult could choke on the hotdog too, well maybe not those who do the Nathans challenge!

 

[Mrs. Charming]

What you posted before you changed it, is extremely sad. We are talking about children. Must be nice to be so smug and sure of yourself. It would be a sad, sad day if you lost one of your children to something like that or would you want some of us to say it was just "natural selection".

You know what? If it was my fault, I'd own up to it. I'm not going to go blaming it on some company or some lack of warning label.

And you know what, Yes, it would be natural selection. Go ahead, call foster care, have my kid and my unborn baby away, you know you want to. Apparently because I feel this way, I'm a horrible neglectful parent.

Secondly this didn't require a personal attack that I'm so "smug and sure of myself." NOT necessary.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

What you posted before you changed it, is extremely sad. We are talking about children...

Of course it is sad, but it is no less true...

 

[wvjules]

You could put a warning on every product warning of every conceivable danger-and it wouldn't solve anything. There would still be stupid people out there, and sadly, those stupid people would still have children that would be at risk.

There is a point where some level of personal responsibility has to enter into life.

 

[luvmy3]

But here's the thing. Moron's have babies! Lot's and lot's of moronic parents out there, and like they say it takes a village.
Sometimes the non-morons have to let the morons in on these little parenting gems.

But the point is, a label isn't going to change the fact that they are a moron.
(Yes, I realize its a harsh word, but my goodness its all just commom sense).

Its a soft food. For many, many kids the world over hot dogs were one of their first table foods. My mil talks about how when her kids were very young they would go to the fridge and get a hot dog out--she is NOT a moron, but had eaten millions of hot dogs and had never heard of anyone getting choked on one. Hot dogs are the perfect "finger food" for kids because a whole one is so easy to hold on to. There are millions of grandparents who raised their kids eating the things and do not realize the danger.

If the shape is the secret than what about popcorn? Its not round. What about that tiny piece of peanut my son choked on and had to have surgery because of? It wasn't round either. I have a friend who had to preform the Heimlech on the side of the road becaue her child choked on a piece of candy--it wasn't round either. There are choking hazards that are not round, so the shape is not necessairly the thing to look for.

I will repeat again, if that label saves just one child it is worth every dime that is spent putting labels on hot dogs.

A soft food doesn't mean you couldn't choke on it any more than just size being the only risk , it could be the size, shape or texture of a food and its ability to get lodged in the throat. Remember those gel candies that were banned here? They are as soft as soft can get, yet they can still be lodged ion someone's throat. Here's a newsflash for anyone, you can choke on anything, but there are things that are a pretty obvious risk. Like I said, all it takes is a person to look at a food and think about it, instead of assuming that because they've never heard of it happening that it can't.

 

[wdwfan16]

I'm really suprised at some of these posts. I don't know why, I've been around here long enough to know better but it still suprises me. The people that I know of who lost their young child(while at WDW) are not 'morons'. They simply didn't realize that their child could choke right in front of their very eyes on a hotdog. Maybe their parents always gave them hotdogs, maybe their poor child had eaten a 100 hotdogs before. Whatever the case, I'm sure that they beat themselves up everyday because their lack of knowledge led to their childs death. Would the outcome be different if the stupid hotdog had been labeled Who knows but if stories like this raise awareness then great. Maybe a new parent will see it and have a lightbulb moment and realize that these things can be dangerous.

So now we need to label the hotdogs from the hotdog carts too? How do you label cooked food?

 

[PeterPan09]

I'm really suprised at some of these posts. I don't know why, I've been around here long enough to know better but it still suprises me. The people that I know of who lost their young child(while at WDW) are not 'morons'. They simply didn't realize that their child could choke right in front of their very eyes on a hotdog. Maybe their parents always gave them hotdogs, maybe their poor child had eaten a 100 hotdogs before. Whatever the case, I'm sure that they beat themselves up everyday because their lack of knowledge led to their childs death. Would the outcome be different if the stupid hotdog had been labeled Who knows but if stories like this raise awareness then great. Maybe a new parent will see it and have a lightbulb moment and realize that these things can be dangerous.

I can't imagine how they didn't know. Good lord, I don't even HAVE kids and I know that a toddler should not be given food in sizes larger than a single Cheerio! I know that they'll shove too much food into their mouths at once and try and swallow it, I know that they won't chew things properly. You give them ONE piece of Cheerio sized food at a time!

I'm sorry this happened to them, I really am-but I'm not going to blame the hot dog people for not putting a skull and crossbones on the package for them.

 

[monkeybug]

You could put a warning on every product warning of every conceivable danger-and it wouldn't solve anything. There would still be stupid people out there, and sadly, those stupid people would still have children that would be at risk.

There is a point where some level of personal responsibility has to enter into life.

But does that mean we shouldn't put warnings on things at all? Or try to educate the public when we learn of something that is unsafe?

Think of how many of our parents thawed the Turkey on the counter, or drove kids with out carseats (or worse seat belts), pregnant women used to smoke, some people didn't know that partially hydrogenated oil= scary bad fat until they changed labels recently.
There are lots, and lot's of things that were not common knowledge until the public was educated about it.

 

[luvsJack]

I'm really suprised at some of these posts. I don't know why, I've been around here long enough to know better but it still suprises me. The people that I know of who lost their young child(while at WDW) are not 'morons'. They simply didn't realize that their child could choke right in front of their very eyes on a hotdog. Maybe their parents always gave them hotdogs, maybe their poor child had eaten a 100 hotdogs before. Whatever the case, I'm sure that they beat themselves up everyday because their lack of knowledge led to their childs death. Would the outcome be different if the stupid hotdog had been labeled Who knows but if stories like this raise awareness then great. Maybe a new parent will see it and have a lightbulb moment and realize that these things can be dangerous.

I know just how you feel about the surprised part. I just can't believe people can be so hard and callous.

Its not about stupidity. Its about simply not realizing something.

 

[monkeybug]

I can't imagine how they didn't know. Good lord, I don't even HAVE kids and I know that a toddler should not be given food in sizes larger than a single Cheerio! I know that they'll shove too much food into their mouths at once and try and swallow it, I know that they won't chew things properly. You give them ONE piece of Cheerio sized food at a time!

I'm sorry this happened to them, I really am-but I'm not going to blame the hot dog people for not putting a skull and crossbones on the package for them.

Ummm...actually toddlers can have more than one cheerio in their mouths at a time, and there are foods bigger than a cheerio that are certainly safe for them to eat. The problem with hot dogs, grapes, and some of the other foods is not that the child puts too much in their mouths, but that they generally do not have the molars at that age, and can not crush the food with their gums to a safe size/shape to swallow. This is what causes the foods to become lodged in their throats. Many people wouldn't think about that, and that's why almost everyone's pediatrician (if you have one) gives them a list of "No no" foods.

 

[krcit]

So now we need to label the hotdogs from the hotdog carts too? How do you label cooked food?

I am not saying that we have to label all the foods. That is not my point. My point is that the more that it is talked about the more awareness is raised and it may educate someone who didn't know.

 

[luvsJack]

You know what? If it was my fault, I'd own up to it. I'm not going to go blaming it on some company or some lack of warning label.

And you know what, Yes, it would be natural selection. Go ahead, call foster care, have my kid and my unborn baby away, you know you want to. Apparently because I feel this way, I'm a horrible neglectful parent.

Secondly this didn't require a personal attack that I'm so "smug and sure of myself." NOT necessary.

Like I said, just sad. I wouldn't blame a company or a warning label either, but that doesn't change the need for the label. Many foods are choking hazards and should be labeled as such. Toys are labeled, why not food? What is so horrible about putting a label on something?

What in heaven's name gives you the idea that I would want to call foster care over what you said? But to think that you would label something that tragic as natural selection is just sadder than the last statement.

 

[bumbershoot]

How is a label going to change anything? People just do not read labels!

Heck, how many people have read, thoroughly, the drug info for the things they are on? Check out the info on drugs.com? Listen, thoroughly, to what the pharmacist tells you? Very very few people truly know what all the drugs they are taking can do.

And we think people are going to read a label?



Now, I'm not saying that passive learning doesn't work. I actually did a research project and senior thesis on it, while working in the college student union food service area. But it didn't involve small labels on food. It involved BIG signs, big nutrition information placards. The signs said "DID YOU KNOW?" and then there was some sort of interesting info...how many calories per gram of fat, carbs, etc. Info about sodium. Etc. I polled freshman before I did it, and polled freshman after (different freshman, and eliminated those who had taken nutrition courses over the course of the year), and there was some really good learning!

But it wasn't from tiny labels; it was from BIG information right there in their faces.