Prepacked School Lunches are Unsafe
As parents, one of our main concerns in keeping our kids healthy. So, to find out that we are sending our kids off to school with food that may make them sick because of improper temperature is alarming. Did you know that harmful bacteria such as Salmonella, E. coli, and Staphylococcus aureus, grow and multiply at temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit. If you remember in the study it found that the average average temperature of the perishable items that were in the lunchboxes were 63.7 degrees.
One complaint of the report is that it really did not offer any solution to parents. I would suggest that from now on no matter what buy an insulated lunch box and double up on ice packs in there. I did read that someone suggested that parents could pack food for their children that isn’t so dependent on being kept at a proper temperature, like fruit or peanut butter. This would mean definitely avoiding using mayonnaise which would spoil quickly. Don’t give your kids leftovers as they require much less time for the bacteria to multiply to an unsafe level. Another suggestion is to Freeze it when you can; freeze juices and waters so this will keep the juice fresh and will also keep other foods chilled in the process. We even freeze the tube yogurts and soft cheese the night before. Fruits and Vegetables without dips are a perfect choice anytime! If you are packing them a whole apple or orange that doesn’t have to be cold put it in anyway to get cold so that it helps keep the overall temperature of the lunch box lower.
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