Back to School: 4 Ways to Pack a Safe Lunch for Your Child

It’s the beginning of August and it won’t be long until the wheels on the bus go round and round. That means that millions of parents across the country will begin to pack their children’s lunches. Whether it’s a shiny new Paw Patrol carrier, a character from Frozen, or a brown paper bag doesn’t matter. What is important is the safety of the food inside.

There are approximately 48 million foodborne illnesses in this country every year; that’s 1 in 6 Americans, add to that 128,000 serious cases that require hospitalization and 5,000 deaths. Those little darlings carrying those shiny new lunch boxes are among the most susceptible. It is believed that a large percentage of these illnesses are caused at home. Foodborne illnesses are 100% preventable. It is your responsibility to protect our youth and make certain their food stays safe until it’s consumed.

Many of these illnesses occur because someone didn’t wash their hands properly, didn’t cook the food thoroughly, contaminated equipment was used, products were purchased from unsafe sources or food wasn’t held at the proper temperature.

I recently read an article that stated the following:

In a recent study, lunches of 235 children were checked with at least one perishable food item 90 minutes prior to lunch. The results were astounding:

· 39% of lunches had no ice packs

· 45.1% of lunches had at least one ice pack

·  88.2% of lunches were found to be at a hazardous temperature

· 1.6% of perishable items checked were found to be at unsafe temperature.

This means that most children are eating food that is unsafe (at least according to this study).

Do you know what time your child eats lunch? What temperature is your lunch when you consume its contents? So, what’s a person to do? 

Make certain the food is not contaminated when it is initially packed.

· Wash your hands.

· Clean counter tops.

· Clean utensils, dishes, and anything else that’s going to touch food, including the lunch box.

Keep cold food cold.

Cold food needs to be kept at 41°F or lower:

· Use a cold pack.

· Freeze water, juice, and milk

· Keep packed snacks chilled in refrigerator overnight.

· Freeze items such as grapes, carrots, celery, sweet bread, cubed cheese, etc.

Keep hot food hot.

Hot food needs to be held at 135°F or higher:

· Put all hot foods and beverages in a thermos.

· Pour hot water in thermos prior to filling with food contents.

· Separate cold food from hot food.

Keep cold food COLD and hot food HOT. Every kitchen should have a calibrated thermometer.

What not to pack.

Stay away from proteins and carbohydrates, i.e. meats, pasta, potatoes, including chicken salad, potato salad, macaroni salad, egg salad, etc. These items pose a risk in anyone’s packed lunch.

So, wash your hands and pack those lunches with confidence!