'Redesign the hot dog!' ... (WTF?)

The venerable hot dog poses a choking risk, so its shape must be redesigned, say Nanny Fascists, er, health officials

“We have laws and regulations that require warning labels on toys that pose choking hazards,” said Dr. Gary Smith of Nationwide Children’s Hospital, the lead author of the policy published in the current issue of Pediatrics.

“There are no such regulations on high risk foods, and children are much more likely to put food in their mouths than a toy.”

Well, now. A little common sense, you say?

Janet Riley, president of the U.S. National Hot Dog & Sausage Council, told The Associated Press she agrees with the need for education, and points out more than half the hot dogs sold in the United States have warnings to 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.

Ah, but that doesn't fit the socialist/totalitarian agenda:

Smith disagreed. “Just telling people to be careful or blaming the parents is an uninformed approach.”

The pediatricians are calling for [among other things]:

• The establishment of a nationwide food-related choking-incident surveillance and reporting system

(via Blazing Cat Fur)