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Publication #FAR8719

 

Keeping School Lunches Safe1

Donna Davis2

Figure 1. 
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If you're a parent of school-aged children, you'd likely never send your little ones out on a freezing morning without jackets. You're probably also careful to make sure they're buckled up before you pull out of the driveway. Yet there's another danger your children face as they go off to school every day that many parents aren't even aware of. It's the safety of the foods in your children's lunch box!

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, "Packing lunches to take to school and after school snacking are vulnerable to the top two causes of foodborne illness: not keeping perishable food cold and not cooking or reheating food to a high enough temperature to destroy any germs that may be present" (United States Department of Agriculture, 2006, ¶ 2).

The USDA offers many tips to help parents and children better guard against foodborne illness. First, there's the fundamental rule: follow good hand hygiene practices by washing hands before preparing food and eating. Keep the area where you prepare your child's meal clean, as many germs lurk there and can contaminate food that will be eaten later. Consider using freezer gel packs or frozen juice cartons to keep perishable foods, such as luncheon meats, cheese and condiments, cold until they're ready to be eaten.

Also, if you're sending your children off with a hot meal, such as soup or stew, be sure to use an insulated container. "Fill the container with boiling water, let it stand for a few minutes, empty it, and then put in the piping hot food" (United States Department of Agriculture, 2006, ¶ 8). As long as they don't open the container before lunchtime, your child should be able to enjoy a hot, delicious, nutritious, and safe meal.

Listening, learning, and living together: it's the science of life. "Family Album" is a co-production of University of Florida IFAS Extension, the Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, and of WUFT-FM. If you'd like to learn more, please visit our website at http://www.familyalbumradio.org.

To listen to the radio broadcast:

http://www.radiosource.net/radio_stories/522.mp3

http://www.radiosource.net/radio_stories/522.wav

Reference

United States Department of Agriculture. (2006, August 18). USDA gives tips for keeping kids' food safe all day. Retrieved September 11, 2006, from http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/NR_081806_01/index.asp

Footnotes

1.

This document is FAR8719, one of a series of the Family Youth and Community Sciences Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Broadcast as program 522. Published October 2010. Reviewed March 2012. In the interest of time and/or clarity, the broadcast version of this script may have been modified. Visit the EDIS website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.

2.

Donna Davis senior producer, Falbum Album Radio, Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611.

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Nick T. Place, Dean.