A Texas study which tested more than 700 preschoolers’ lunch packs found that less than two percent of the meats, vegetables and dairy products were in the safe temperature zone by the time children were eating their lunches.
If you are packing a lunch for your child chances are that the food will be too warm to be consumed safely.
The report suggests using ice packs and placing perishables in a refrigerator at school.
This doesn’t seem practical for most however, packing less meat and dairy and using insulated lunch boxes may help.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, perishable foods kept between 40 degrees and 140 degrees Fahrenheit (4 to 60 degrees Celsius) for more than two hours are no longer safe to eat.
Although 45 percent of the packed lunches included an ice pack and 12 percent were kept in refrigerators, nearly all of the perishable foods were in the danger zone.
That means bacteria that cause food poisoning — like E. coli and Salmonella — could be multiplying quickly inside the sandwiches that kids eat.
