‘Why serve rice cakes to toddlers?’ Parents and teachers fear choking risks in Korean daycare meals

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After a tragic choking death of an 18-month-old at a daycare center in Gimpo, South Korea, parents are calling for rice cakes to be removed from daycare menus. The case has sparked national debate and renewed scrutiny over the safety of foods served to young children.

The incident occurred last month when a toddler choked on a rice cake during snack time and later died despite emergency aid. Since then, many parents have questioned why foods with known choking risks — such as sticky rice cakes — remain in daycare meal plans.

Some facilities have temporarily removed rice cakes from their menus, while others have made no changes, leaving many parents confused and anxious. “The daycare sent us choking prevention guidelines after the incident, but the meals stayed the same,” said Bae, 33, a parent in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province. “We’re really worried. Can’t they just remove rice cakes altogether?”

Following the May 22 accident, the Ministry of Education issued a non-binding advisory to daycare centers, recommending that sticky foods be cut into small pieces. Some regional food support centers have provided alternate menus for June excluding rice cakes, but implementation has been left to individual institutions.

Parents say foods like rice cakes and jelly should be excluded from daycare menus because choking is difficult to handle even with emergency procedures. In the Gimpo case, a teacher attempted the Heimlich maneuver but was unsuccessful.

“I’ve always been uneasy about rice cakes,” said Jo, 34, a parent in Ansan. “They’re sticky and hard for babies to swallow. They’re just carbohydrates — why serve them at all?”

While government guidelines say sticky foods should be cut into small pieces and carefully monitored, experts argue such rules are hard to enforce in practice. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety already advises caution with rice cakes, but in reality, one teacher may be responsible for feeding up to five one-year-olds at once, making real-time monitoring nearly impossible.

“We try to keep all the children in sight and feed them carefully, starting with those who grab food quickly,” one daycare teacher said. “But it’s tough. I can imagine myself in that teacher’s shoes.” Parent Bae added, “Even when rice cakes are cut small, kids can shove them all in at once.”

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said it is considering revisions to its daycare meal guidelines, including the potential exclusion of foods with high choking risk. In response to inquiries, a ministry spokesperson said, “We are reviewing whether to eliminate foods like rice cakes and jelly that are difficult to manage if lodged in the throat. We plan to consult pediatricians and nutrition experts before making any changes.”

There are also calls for broader, unified safety standards that apply to all childcare and early education facilities, regardless of size. Current guidelines apply mainly to private daycare centers and kindergartens with fewer than 100 children, which often rely on municipal food service support due to the absence of in-house dietitians. Larger centers and public kindergartens, which hire their own nutritionists, are not bound by these guidelines.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.