Hygiene: Cleanliness and safety
Without doubt, cleanliness is crucial to avoiding food
contamination. Most of us are very careful with hygiene; however,
when dealing with food, it's worth remembering the following:
- Wash fruit and scrub vegetables before use or before
refrigerating
- Use hot soapy water to wash your hands
- Use appropriate cutting boards. Wooden boards have been shown
to yield the lowest bacterial covering after use and washing
- Take care when heating food in a microwave as the food can be
hotter in certain areas than others
- Do not cross-contaminate foods, for example raw meats, poultry
or eggs should not be placed together
- Avoid using your fingers to handle food
- Keep hair away from food
- Reduce the food's exposure to anyone who may be unwell
- Wash sponges in the machine or place in the microwave for two
minutes and replace regularly
- Clean up food spills with paper towels and dispose
immediately
- If in doubt, discard food that is suspicious.
Choking: Hazards and how to avoid them
A recent study of food-related choking in America found that 90%
occurred in infants and children under the age of 5 years and 65%
in children under 2 years. Of the 103 foods studied, round-shaped
foods were found to be the most common offenders. The study found
the following foods to be most risky (in order):
- Hot dogs and sweets
- Nuts
- Grapes
To further avoid choking, ensure your baby eats only while sitting.
NEVER leave infants or young children to eat alone. Avoid hard and
round small foods; instead chop food into irregular small pieces
and quarter grapes. Some reports suggest avoiding sticky foods such
as melted cheeses and peanut butter; however, there is a low
incidence of asphyxiation with these foods.
Quick tip:
Baby-feeding meshes are a recent product on the market. They are
plastic holders with a mesh bag to hold food that baby can then
chew on. Fantastic for teething and safely introducing finger
foods, for example a wide range of fruit, veggies and other foods.
These replace the home-made version using muslin. A great
invention.
Hazardous foods and safe eating
Infants and young children don't have back teeth which we use to
chew and grind food down to smaller pieces. Combined with their
still-developing eating methods, this puts them at risk of choking.
Too many toddlers and preschoolers think eating is just an
inconvenience in a day that is otherwise filled with play. A common
tendency is to take large mouthfuls of food and get it down as fast
as possible.
What are the age groups most at risk from food-related
choking?
- 90% occurs in infants and children under the age of 5
years
- 65% in children under 2
Tips for making food safer
- Always sit down to eat in a calm manner.
- Supervise infants or young children while they eat.
- Avoid hard and round small foods or chop them into irregular
small pieces.
- Encourage children to take small to medium bites, to eat slowly
and to chew their food well.
- Never force food into a child's mouth.
- It may be wise to avoid sticky foods such as melted cheeses and
peanut butter; however, the incidence of asphyxiation with these
foods is low.
- Cut meat, poultry and sausage into small pieces and remove skin
and excess fat.
- Grate, cook or mash small hard fruit and vegies.
- Avoid small hard pieces especially rounded shapes.
- Avoid nuts, seeds, popcorn, whole grapes and sweets.
What do you do if a child chokes on food?
If the child is breathing, then check their mouth for food. Remove
any foodstuff you can see and ask the child to cough to see if this
brings up any more food. This should also be removed. Keep an eye
on the child for a while to ensure the danger is over. If a child
is still not breathing easily after two minutes, call for an
ambulance.
Where a child has stopped breathing, place them face down across
your lap, their head should be lower than their chest. Give a sharp
blow between the shoulders using the heel of your open hand only.
Check their mouth and take out any food you can see. Repeat this
process up to five times if required. Should the child still not be
breathing, call for an ambulance.
Consider taking a first aid or Red Cross course; there are now
children-specific first aid courses.
This information has been provided by Leanne Cooper from Cadence
Health. Leanne is a qualified nutritionist and mother of two
very active boys.
 |
What do I Feed My Baby
eBook by Leanne Cooper
Guiding you and baby through solids to meals. |