October Food and Cosmetics Safety Tips for Halloween and Fall Outings

As you plan your Halloween and fall outings, the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has some food and cosmetics safety tips and information to ensure that your children's holiday is a safe and healthy one, too.

For example,

• FDA advises that juice or cider served to children at Halloween parties and outings be pasteurized or otherwise treated to destroy harmful bacteria.
• Face painting can also be a big part of the fun on Halloween and lots of other special occasions. Most of the time, people do this without a problem, but not always. FDA has provided some pointers to help keep novelty makeup fun from leaving consumers with a rash, swollen eyelids, or other grief. The helpful tips include how to use a test skin site for possible allergy or skin sensitivity to novelty makeup.
• The complete list of food and cosmetics safety tips is available.

Also, carnivals, fairs, and school field trips may be planned to local pumpkin patches and animal farms as part of the fall season, as well. So you can enjoy your visits, it's important to have some safety tips in mind. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have reported an increase in human health problems associated with petting zoos and human:animal contact. There are a wide variety of human health problems, such as infections with Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella, Coxiella burnetti, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and ringworm, may result from animal contact in these settings. So to keep your visit safe, it is recommended that children wash their hands after petting the animals. Handwashing is the single most important prevention step for reducing the risk for disease transmission. A "Compendium of Measures to Prevent Disease Associated with Animals in Public Settings" is available.