A Hot Dog Patty?

Would it still be a hot dog if it came in the shape of a bread stick or a hamburger patty? Would you eat a hot dog fillet or hot dog nuggets? It seems almost sacrilegious to mess with the shape of the most American of foods -- the hot dog. But that is what pediatricians are suggesting. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics is calling on hot dog makers to come up with a choke-proof hot dog.

According to many pediatricians, if you were to set out to develop the perfect food product to choke people – you could not find anything better then the hot dog. Its shape, size and texture make it the perfect choking device. The academy found that each year more than 10,000 kids under the age of 14 go to the emergency room after choking on food. Of those up to 77 die and about 17 percent of those deaths are from hot dogs.

Ideally the academy would like a redesign of the hot dog. Short of that, the group wants a required warning label on packaging that would caution consumers about the dangers of choking. The National Hot Dog & Sausage Council points out that many of the hot dogs sold today already have warning labels and that if parents just take a few minor preparation steps they can dramatically decrease the chance of choking.

An article in U.S. News & World Report has three practical suggestions to prevent children from choking on foods:

• Re-engineer food yourself for children under the age of four by cutting up round food like hot dogs, bananas and grapes.
• Cook foods for children until they are soft. Foods like pasta, beans and vegetables should be thoroughly cooked before serving.
• High-risk choking food such as hard candies, chewing gum, marshmallows, peanuts and peanut butter should be kept away from children.

Also, parents should learn first aid tips for dealing with choking, especially for children. Keeping your family safe is mainly a matter of common sense. Since fires and burns pose an even greater danger to young children a monitored fire system is another smart move for family safety.
 

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