Posted Sept 16, 2011
Children’s school lunches can reach unsafe temperatures if packed improperly. In one study, more than 98 percent of perishable foods in children’s lunches were at unsafe temperatures, leaving children at risk of stomach aches and food poisoning.
“Perishable food transported without an ice source won’t stay safe long,” said Patti Landers, Ph.D., a registered dietitian and professor of Nutritional Sciences in the OU College of Allied Health. Safe foods include fresh fruit, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chips, crackers, nuts, dried fruits and unopened cans of meat and fish.
Perishable food should be packed in an insulated lunch bag with ice packs or frozen gel packs. Sandwiches, including cold cuts, tuna, chicken or egg salads, can be made the night before and frozen, then packed in the morning with ice. Prepackaged combos that contain lunch meat with crackers, cheese, and condiments must also be kept cold.
Paper bags, metal and plastic lunch boxes do not provide enough insulation for foods that need to be cooled. Hot foods should be in a nontoxic, insulated thermos. Throw away uneaten food.
©2011 The Moore American (Norman, Okla.)