Children's Products

Action Needed to Prevent Childhood Food Choking Deaths: Manufacturers Urged to Label Choking Hazards with Warnings

Washington D.C.-Consumer Federation of America joins the Center for Science in the Public Interest in urging food manufacturers and food producers to label foods that pose choking hazards to young children and to better educate consumers about the precautions parents and caregivers can take to prevent a choking incident.

“Food is a significant cause of choking among children. Every year as many children die choking on food as they do from accidental poisoning, yet many people do not realize how serious the problem is,” stated Rachel Weintraub, assistant general counsel at Consumer Federation of America. “Food producers must do a better job alerting consumers to potential food choking hazards.”

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have recommended that warning labels be placed, whenever possible, on the foods most likely to cause choking. According to their research, the ten foods most likely to cause choking are hot dogs, candy, peanuts/nuts, grapes, cookies, meat, carrots, apples, popcorn, and peanut butter. Other foods that pose choking hazards include sunflower seeds, caramel, marshmallows, ice cubes, raw celery, raw peas, pretzel nuggets and fish with bones.

“Labeling certain foods with a warning that spells out the potential choking hazard is a common sense way to educate consumers about this risk and to prevent choking deaths and injuries,” Weintraub stated.

Representative Mike Honda (CA) introduced the Food Choking Prevention Act last year and is reintroducing the bill today along with Representative Michael Ferguson (NJ). The bill would establish an Office of Choking Hazard Evaluation charged with developing a warning label on foods that pose a high choking risk to children. “We applaud Representatives Honda and Ferguson for introducing a bill to help prevent future food choking deaths and injuries. We look forward to working with them, the Food and Drug Administration, the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to ensure that the government and food producers are doing what they should to prevent food choking incidents,” concluded Weintraub.

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Consumer Federation of America is a non-profit association of 300 consumer groups, with a combined membership of more than 50 million people. CFA was founded in 1968 to advance the consumers’ interest through advocacy and education. For more information about food choking and tips for parents to prevent food choking incidents, please go to www.safechild.net.