Crazy health and safety rules stop parents heating baby food in cafés
Filed under: Healthy eating
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But the Myth Busters Challenge Panel - a new Government panel which has been set up to counteract over-the-top health and safety rules - has found that some cafés and restaurants refuse to warm up baby food or supply hot water, because they say it's just too risky.
The Telegraph reports that the panel asked members of the public to send in examples of bizarre health and safety restrictions so that they could assess if there was a genuine risk.
Chris Grayling, the employment minister, said: "It's hugely frustrating when excuses are being made in the name of health and safety. The Myth Busters Challenge Panel is helping the man and woman on the street to fight back against the jobsworths."
A mum from Wakefield, West Yorks, got in touch with the panel after she was repeatedly told by cafés and restaurants that they could not warm up baby food, or supply hot water so that she could do it herself.
The panel ruled that there are no health and safety regulations which prevent catering establishments from helping parents prepare food for their children.
Judith Hackitt, chairman of the Health and Safety Executive, added that some of the examples were "blatant and disturbing examples of people using health and safety as an excuse."
Have you ever been told that it's against health and safety rules to heat up baby food, or are your local cafés and restaurants happy to help out?
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The health and safety jobsworths who make parenting so tricky
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