The Scary Reason Your Kids’ Lunch Bags Might Be Unsafe
Alarming news for moms and dads: Many of the insulated packs kids use to carry their lunch to school don’t keep food at safe temperatures.
That’s what a local news station in Portland, Oregon, has found.
The “Problem Solvers” team at KATU tested three insulated lunch bags by different manufacturers. Turkey sandwiches went into each pack, along with an apple, a bag of Goldfish crackers, and a thermometer. An hour later, none of the bags kept the food at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below. The team got similar results even when adding an ice pack to the mix.
According to the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, food should either be kept at 140 degrees Fahrenheit or above, or 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below. Leaving it out at room temperature for more than two hours can cause bacteria, including those responsible for staph infection, to grow.
“You really need to keep it at that temperature (below 40 degrees), which is actually pretty hard to do, considering that the food is going to sit there at room temperature for probably four to five hours,” Jenny Rudolph, so-called Food Lady and educator at the Oregon State University Extension Service, told the news station.
She suggested throwing in at least two or three ice packs in lunch bags, as well as items such as frozen juice boxes and berries.
“Microorganisms love to have a little protein,” said Rudolph. “The more cold items and the tighter packed it is, the longer it will stay cold.”
The experiment wasn’t scientific, however, and KATU doesn’t specify which brands it tested. Some parents might even argue that their kids haven’t fallen ill from years of packed school lunches.
According to Rudolph, symptoms can be confusing. Effects of eating unsafe food could simply manifest as a slight stomachache or a general feeling of unease.
It all might sound harmless enough, but as Rudolph said, “It only takes one bout of food-borne illness to change anyone’s mind about the importance of food safety.”
Besides, there’s another reason to stop packing lunch altogether: According to scientific studies, cafeteria lunches are generally healthier than what parents put together for their kids.
Original article from TakePart
