Mistaking Cleanser for Cheese can be Deadly
Thousands harmed annually by sprinkling from wrong container

WASHINGTON DC-- A senate subcommittee on household safety heard shocking testimony today regarding the rising number of accidents associated with the application of grated cheese to pasta, salads and other dinnertime favorites. The problem, presenter Dr. David Kurd quickly pointed out, has nothing to do with the cheese itself.

"It's the packaging," he said. "It just so happens that some of the leading brands of cheese toppings come in shaker containers that look just like the ones abrasive cleansers come in."

"Unfortunately, for hundreds of Americans each year, they're literally 'dead ringers,'" Kurd quipped. "The visually impaired, persons using medication or alcohol, and senior Mafiosi seem particularly vulnerable to grabbing the wrong item and poisoning themselves, but it's a mistake that can happen to anyone"

Cheese or cleanser? It can be hard to tell. Don't take chances, experts warn: Sniff before you sprinkle. Parmesan cheese should always smell like unwashed feet.

The household cleaners sometimes mistaken for Parmesan cheese derive their cleaning power from bleaches containing chlorine, a substance that, when taken internally, can cause digestive distress, seizures, and, in some cases, even death. In 2005, the first year the National Safety Council began tracking cheese shaker accidents, the organization reported that 173 Americans died after ingesting abrasive cleansers mistaken for grated Parmesan. While cheese accidents account for only a small portion of the 11,000 household poisoning deaths that occur in the U.S. each year, SprinkleSafe feels its mission is an urgent one.

"These deaths don't have to happen and they need to stop now," Kurd tearfully implored. "People have to wake up and realize that the next bad shake could wind up right on top of their pile of penne."

SprinkleSafe is asking the U.S. Senate to help them persuade major grated cheese product producers to switch to a proposed uniform packaging alternative that features distinctive red and white stripes.

"Not only would the packages let consumers know that they're actually shaking cheese--not cleanser--onto their foods," said Kurd, "but they'd also have a funky, 'old country' feel, that we think would look great on a checkered tablecloth."

Unfortunately for SprinkleSafe, not everyone agrees that sprinkling abrasive cleanser--accidentally or otherwise--onto foods is a problem.

Vince Bernelli, a chef and restaurant owner in Brooklyn, New York discovered the versatility and tangy allure of abrasive cleanser by accident back in 1968. He says he doesn't see a problem with including moderate amounts of it in the recipes he serves his customers.

"The first time I put a dash of kitchen cleanser on my ziti by mistake, I admit I almost puked," he says, "but that was just because I didn't expect the distinctive taste. It's like an explosion in your mouth! Once I got used to it, I began to enjoy it--even crave it. It's a piquant, fiery, and sort of nutty flavor. Personally, I can't get enough of it, and my customers seem to agree. I keep cans of scouring powder on every table and we're constantly refilling them. To my knowledge, nobody has ever gotten sick from our cooking for any reason. Plus, many of our regulars tell me their smiles have gotten significantly brighter."

"That's absolutely insane" counters Dora Belladonna, director of New York's Poison Control Center. "No one, under any circumstances, should ingest any amount of household cleanser. Doing so would, at the very least, cause irreversible damage to the esophagus, and eating scouring powders can kill. Any restaurant owner who serves abrasive cleanser on his pasta dishes is committing a criminal act. I'm not saying that because I'm a prude either. Like many people, I enjoy a bit of shoe polish in my coffee now and then and I really look forward to savoring a snifter or two of bayberry lamp oil during the holidays...but abrasive cleanser? That's where I draw the line. Others should two."

The subcommittee will review its findings on grated cheese accidents and is expected to publish recommendations by the end of May.

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