Babies and Pet Food?

The magazine Pet Age had an article recently, Salmonella Cases Rise.  It stated that there have been 22 cases of salmonella cases linked to pet food produced by a Diamond Pet Food plant in Gaston, SC.   The odd thing about this news?  The salmonella cases were in humans!  Seriously? Why hasn't anyone asked the question, "Why are these people eating pet food?"

Yeah, I understand.  There are many ways to contract salmonella without actually ingesting it.  I just thought the article sounded funny.

That is, until I read a little further in the article and found this: 

"A New Jersey man filed a lawsuit in his home state alleging that his infant was sickened by salmonella-contaminated dog food, according to published reports."

I dug a little deeper and found more detail at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  

The report quotes the lawyer as saying "the route of transmission to the child is uncertain but that it might have happened through the parents' hands".  It went on to point out, quite well, that "people can become infected with salmonella by handling contaminated food ... especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with surfaces exposed to this product.

Yes, the dog food should not have salmonella.

Yes, the manufacturer should be held responsible for the food.  

But, why, again, is nobody asking ... "Where is the parental responsibility for this?!"  If you handle dogs, dog food ... ANY animal ... wash your hands before handling your baby!

This struck a cord, especially after the recent and ongoing attempt by the CSCP to ban the sale of Bucky Balls.  Nobody in the media is stating the obvious ... parents need to step up and take a little responsibility when it comes to child rearing.  If you can't handle it, then don't hold society responsible for your ineptitude.  

Hands Off My Buckballs

Last week, CNN reported that the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) was suing the maker of Bucky Balls, the widely popular set of high-powered magnetic balls (0.5 inch or 0.5 cm in diameter) that can be manipulated and made into different shapes and forms, to require them to stop selling the product.  The reason: at least a dozen small children had ingested the tiny metal balls, requiring surgery and, in some cases, lengthy hospital stays to correct.

Okay, I get it.  Magnets bad for small children.  Instead of suing the manufacturer, however, who is asking ... "where were the parents"?!

In case you haven't seen this little gift idea, a video has been included below.  It is an entertaining little accessory, especially for the fidgety types who enjoy a little additional tactile enjoyment while engaged in other mundane tasks, such as talking on the phone (disclosure: I am an owner of Bucky Balls, and quite fidgety at times).

Clearly, the tiny magnetic balls are a clear and present hazard to small children.  Without even working in the toy industry, I could figure that out.  All small trinkets are dangerous, so I would start by requiring the manufacturer to only market the item to adults, clearly disclose the hazard on the product, and potentially provide a public awareness campaign for others who may not be aware of the dangers.

Wait ... they did.  As one company spokesperson points out:
We market these products to adults age 14 and above ... There are warning labels to keep the magnets away from children on five places on each box, and in accompanying instructions. A public awareness campaign about magnet safety with videos distributed by the government and a special website (www.magnetsafety.com) was launched several months ago, with the full cooperation of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
This is the warning sign:

It is also interesting to note that half a billion magnet balls have been sold since the company started.  According to the CSPC, less than two dozen cases of ingestion have been reported (and this is not a case of under-reporting, because if ingestion has occured, and the magnets do not pass and instead stick on the inside of the stomach or intestine lining, the cases would be known).  While no injury is acceptable, that is a fairly stellar safety record.

I understand the job and the goals of the CSPC ... keep consumers safe.  But this is a massive over reach of government intervention.  There are tens of thousands of threats to small children, around the house and outside.  There is no possible way to regulate each and every one of them.  

Instead, we should be looking toward the parents.  Instead of "victimizing" the parents of children who were harmed, we should be asking how their children came to have the balls in the first place.  We should also be putting emphasis, as a society, on parents' responsibility for raising children properly instead of creating default fallbacks when they do something wrong.

Allow me to personalize this.  My 16 month old daughter loves to throw a blanket over her head and play hide-and-seek.  The other day, she walked with the blanket over her head into a cabinet door, leaving a nice welt on her forehead and scaring the dickens out of herself.  Do I blame the blanket maker ... the cabinet installer?  No.  It's my own fault, because I turned away for a few seconds as she took off in a trot.

My responsibility ... not that of the CSPC
Make no mistake, the CSPC has a very important function.  Instead of this lawsuit, however, the agency should focus on assuring that foreign and domestic manufacturers and suppliers are following the proper manufacturing guideline and practices and providing products free of harmful materials and substances that, on the surface, are completely undetectable by consumers.  Period.

I believe we should all actually be gravitating to this case.  If the CSPC is successful, there is no end to what the agency will pursue next with the precedent.  We need to show our support for Bucky Balls, and emphasize the responsibility of parents.

You can visit http://www.getbuckyballs.com/save-our-balls/ for more information.


Independence Day By Tweet

I know this is a tad late, but I just read and thought it was pretty funny.  Thanks to Foreign Policy Magazine for the entertainment.

If Twitter was around during the Revolutionary War:
@KingGeorge3 I desire what is good. Therefore, everyone who does not help me reach 10k followers today is a traitor.

@SamAdams Tweet up at the harbor Nov 28. Bring tea. Mohawk costume optional #TeaParty

@PatrickHenry Give me liberty or give me death #BOOM

@LordNorth @SamAdams @PatrickHenry You guys are in big trouble

@PaulRevere British r coming Pls RT

@PaulRevere @RobertNewman Correction: That's ONE if by land, TWO if by sea

@ConcordMinutemen #shotsfired

@ConcordMinutemen No really...shots have been fired

@GeorgeWashington I love the smell of musket powder in the morning. #Ticonderoga

@TomJefferson Working on a major declaration. Dropping July 4. Stay tuned.

@TomJefferson When in the course of human events...[Read more via Tweetlonger]

@JohnHancock COSIGN RT @TomJefferson When in the course of human events...

@KingGeorge3 Shorter Declaration of Independence: Waaaahh...my tea is too expensive!

@BetsyRoss Check out what I made! 

@BenFranklin Got an idea for the national bird. The Turkey! Amiright?

@GeneralHowe Blowout in BKLYN this weekend

@KingLouisXVI We fully support the democratic aspirations of the American people #NotAPrecedent

@GeorgeWashington Crossing Delaware http://bit.ly/A1dEVy

@KingGeorge3 FML!!! RT @GeneralBurgoyne Surrendering Saratoga

@GeorgeWashington Checked in at Valley Forge on Foursquare

@JohnAdams @AbigailAdams I can't stand Versailles. SO over the top.

@AbigailAdams @JohnAdams So sorry for you. We have no food.

@TomJefferson @SallyHemmings Miss you gurl

@TomJefferson Wait...how do you do a DM again?

@BenedictArnold Thrilled to announce my new position with the British Army!

@GeorgeWashington EVERYBODY UNFOLLOW @BenedictArnold

@JohnPaulJones I have not yet begun to fight, Bitchezzzzzz


@GeneralCornwallis We'll always have Yorktown

@KingGeorge3 +1 RT @GeneralCornwallis We'll always have Yorktown


@GeneralCornwallis We no longer have Yorktown

@KingGeorge3 So done with this

@GeorgeWashington #Winning

@KingLouisXVI Vive la liberté! #totallynotaprecedent

@BenFranklin In Paris for treaty signing w/ @JohnAdams and @JohnJay


@AlexanderHamilton hating teh Articles of Confederation right now

Hulk In Need Of Yoga


I typically like to think of myself as cool under fire, but lately, I've been feeling a little "Hulkish" ... without the blazing green muscles of course.  So, the timing was impeccable when I saw this great, short and to the point blog post by John Baldoni at Smart Blogs on Leadership.  So simple, and so effective ... thanks for the reminder.  Hope you all get something from this.




http://smartblogs.com/leadership/2012/06/22/keeping-cool-pressure/