Kids
and Safe Toys
Choking Hazard
(Submitted by student Jeff Hansen)
Recently you
may have seen the news about the three young kids
ranging from 3 to 6 years of age seriously injured (and one two-year old killed)
after swallowing small
magnets from a set of toys called Magnetix. The manufacturer has made no recall
of the
toy, although it has a toy substitution offer. But Magnetix is still on the shelves
of many retail stores. You may want to have your
students discuss the situation and decide if the company has gone far enough
to keep kids safe.
Here
are some resources to help you research this toy safety issue:
Magnetix
Replacement Program
News
Story About the Issue
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Bulletin
Who
to Contact:
Victor Bertrand, Chairman, Board of Directors
Marc
Bertrand, CEO
Vic
Bertrand, COO
Mega
Bloks Inc. (the parent company)
4505 Hickmore
Montreal, QC
CANADA
H4T 1K4
Tel: 1-800-465-MEGA
Kids
and Safe Food
Toxic
Popcorn Bags
(Submitted
by student Jeff Hansen)
Polytetrafluoroethylene,
otherwise known as PFOA, is a
chemical used by many family food brands to keep their
products from sticking to their wrappers. Sounds like a
good thing, but the durability of PFOA prevents it
from breaking down once it's in the environment. Traces of
PFOA chemicals can be found in the blood of nearly all
Americans and in the environment!
The
main focus
is microwave popcorn. Because of the intense
heat caused by the microwaving process, PFOA
contaminates the popcorn oils in which the kernels
cook. So more than 20 percent of the PFOA
levels in Americans are caused by microwave popcorn!
Several companies have changed their packaging habits to exclude
PFOA, but your students might want to urge the rest to get
healthy and safe!
Here
are some resources to help you research this food safety issue:
Scientific Article About This Issue
Science
Article About PFOA
A Look
At Food Packaging Safety
Who to Contact:
Philip
B. Fletcher, Chairman of the Board
ConAgra, Inc.
One ConAgra Drive
Omaha, NE 68102-5001
(402) 595-4000
Even
More Ideas...
Food
safety is always
an important topic, especially for kids whose smaller bodies can
suffer bigger impacts. Have kids research and develop a plan of
action for this or for other food safety issues. Then
have them contact their congressional representatives (how to find
your representatives is detailed above).
Here
are some resources to help you research various food safety issues:
Center
for Science in the Public Interest
1875 Connecticut Ave. N.W.
Suite 300
Washington, DC 20009
Organic
Consumers Association
6101 Cliff Estate Rd
Little Marais, MN 55614
Vegetarian
Kids and Teens (The Vegetarian Resource Group)
Factory
Farm Project (working
toward "healthful and humane" farms)
Let
us know if you find other good websites |