FOOD NEWS
The Unexpected Reason Bagels Are One Of The Most Dangerous Foods In The Country
By Elaina Friedman
The bagel is a go-to breakfast food that is totally harmless when it’s on your plate, but things can get ugly when a sharp knife is involved. According to data shared by The Wall Street Journal, 1,979 people were sent to the ER in 2008 with a BRI, or a bagel-related injury — slicing a bagel is reportedly more risky than slicing an apple, a potato, or an onion.
Slicing your hand instead of your bagel isn’t new: in 1996, New Yorker contributor Calvin Trillin was "surprised to read that bagels have become the most dangerous food in the country." Around the same time, a Chicago ER director told The New York Times that "hand lacerations, cuts, gouges, and severed digits" were common in patients with bad bagel luck.
Before you go renouncing bagels forever in the name of your health, consider changing your approach to preparation. If you want to prevent injuries, you can buy a bagel slicer for around $25; if you prefer a knife, be sure to cut away from your body instead of toward it, or put the bagel flat on a cutting board and slice it horizontally.