Halloween Food Safety Tips


Do not send children out to trick-or-treat on an empty stomach. Give them a snack or light meal before going out.

Tell children NOT to take or eat anything that is not store-bought.

Children should not snack while trick-or-treating. Children should wait until they get home and an adult candycornhas checked their treats. Adults should check for signs of tampering. Does the treat look different than it should? Are there tiny pinholes or tears in the wrappers? Throw away anything that looks suspicious, or has open or torn wrapping.

Throw away homemade candy or baked goods.

Adults should remove any choking hazards like gum, peanuts, hard candies or small toys.

Take extra care if your child has food allergies. Your child should not taste any treats until you have checked the food label. Read the label on each piece of candy. Avoid candy without a label that lists what is in the candy.

Make sure juice served at Halloween gatherings is pasteurized (treated to kill harmful bacteria). Juice or cider that has not been pasteurized will say so on the label.

Some Healthy Halloween Treats

  • Stickers
  • Balloons
  • Collector cards – pictures of animals or athletes
  • Book markers
  • Pencils
  • Colored pencils, crayons, watercolor markers
  • Small box of raisins
  • Small bag of “fishes” (crackers)
  • Inexpensive, small, plastic toy (animal, car, etc)
  • Toothbrush or small tube of toothpaste

mr 6-25-09