Tips for Making Your Halloween a Little Less Scary
Halloween can be a fun and exciting time for both children and adults. However, the excitement of Halloween shouldn’t make us forget about food safety. Please keep in mind that children with allergies and food sensitivities must be especially careful before eating trick-or-treat goodies or certain foods served at Halloween gatherings
- Remind children not to eat any of their collected goodies while out trick-or-treating until they are inspected by an adult.
- Be sure your kids know not to accept –– and especially not to eat — homemade candy or baked goods from people they don’t know.
- Give children a snack or light dinner before they go out to help prevent them from munching while trick-or-treating. Don’t send them out on an empty stomach!
- Throw out any collected homemade candy or baked goods.
- Check all commercially wrapped treats. Throw out any treats that are not wrapped, those in torn or loose packages, or those which have small holes in the wrappers.
- Be cautious before giving young children treats that could be potential choking hazards, such as chewy candies, gum, hard candies, lollipops, peanuts and mini-cup jelly products. (Depending on the size, shape, consistency and composition, mini-cup jelly products may become lodged in the throat and may be difficult to remove.)
- Wash fresh fruit thoroughly. Inspect it for holes, including small punctures, and if found, do not let children or adults eat the fruit.
- Remember: when in doubt, throw it out!
Take the following precautions before allowing children with allergies and sensitivities to eat any Halloween goodies:
- Throw away homemade candy or baked goods.
- Read labels carefully for all commercially wrapped treats.
- Avoid products that do not have a list of ingredients. Bear in mind that Halloween candies do not always have ingredients listed on their labels.
- Avoid products with precautionary labeling (“may contain” statements).
- Do not allow your children to consume a particular product if you are unsure if it contains an allergen.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN from your friends at Ajax-Pickering Village Chiropractic!