Infrared LED intensity
You could insist that users wear IR protective goggles. 

If you don't really need that narrow angle (6°) that the SH4550 offers, you could also use a different LED that has a broader angle. The intensity also drops with the square of the distance from the LED. 

Here are some detailed safety guidelines for IR LEDs. Remote signals are brief and pulsed, so the allowable power level for your application may be higher than for an IR illuminator.