The recent killer hot dog headlines made by the American Academy of Pediatrics have made many eyebrows rise to the ceiling. The proposal from the learned baby doctors state that hot dogs should come with a warning label, some requiring language such as “choking on this hotdog may be hazardous to your child’s health”.

Many parents experience the dread of seeing their toddler having food go down the wrong pipe. That is why it is essential that parents and au pairs know how to do baby CPR, essentially whacking a toddler between the shoulder blades. Statistics though belie the danger, as food is one of the main culprits of choking cases for children below ten years of age. The main problem is that the cylindrical shape of hotdogs that are easy to lodge in a child’s throat leading to at least seventy-seven children deaths per year caused by choking on food in general.

Also stemming from the recommendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics is the re-engineering of the hotdog shape. This may be a long ways off as the hotdog shape has been revered for centuries so parents are advised not to leave a child alone when eating. There are also some ways you as a businessperson can do to help avoid children choking on your precious hotdogs.

The first way is to cut up the hotdogs into smaller chunks when serving customers that are below the age of four years of age. The sizes can be half an inch or less, this can prevent choking from occurring. Also when cooking food, you need to ensure they are soft especially for beans, vegetables and pasta.

If your business provides other kinds of food, then you need to be very wary of what you sell. These include peanuts, peanut butter, marshmallows, chewing gum, meat sticks and round candy. Children can easily choke on candy, peanut butter globs can also become a choking hazard. Hotdogs, because of their shape can lodge in their throats that can become very dangerous.

As a food concessionaire, you need to be very aware of the food you sell and how you serve it. Always be on the lookout for your young customers as they would be your base for now and for the future.

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