Ministry of Education’s new food safety rules for daycare ‘very unrealistic’ – Early Childhood CEO

NewsHub 20 January 2021
Family First Comment: Remember Helen Clark’s attempts to control light bulbs and shower pressure. Labour is back!
“The new rules suggest grating or cooking at-risk foods such as raw carrot, apple or celery for children under the age of 3. They also suggested finely chopping grapes, berries and cherry tomatoes.” 🙄

Parents and early childhood education teachers are finding it tricky to adjust to the Ministry of Health’s new food safety rules for lunchboxes.

The rules from the Ministry of Education (MoH), effective on January 25, ban foods such as hard rice crackers, dried fruit and nuts.

The rules come after a 22-month-old boy was left severely brain-damaged after choking on a raw apple at his Rotorua daycare in 2016.

Neihana Renata was left starved of oxygen for 30 minutes and now he cannot walk or talk.

Small hard foods are considered a high risk as it could be difficult for young children to bite through and break down the pieces to swallow safely.

The new rules suggest grating or cooking at-risk foods such as raw carrot, apple or celery for children under the age of 3. They also suggested finely chopping grapes, berries and cherry tomatoes.

But Dr Julie Bhosale, a family nutrition expert, told Stuff it’s not a practical suggestion.
READ MORE: https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2021/01/ministry-of-education-s-new-food-safety-rules-for-daycare-very-unrealistic-early-childhood-ceo.html