Back to School with Safe Lunches

Back to School with Safe Lunches

Kids around the Pacific Northwest are back in school and the Oregon Department of Agriculture has some useful tips to ensure that the lunch you send with your child each school day is safe as well as satisfying. Simply put, the lunch you send with your child needs to be packed with care and consideration. Kids are more susceptible to food borne illnesses than most adults as Oregon Department of Agriculture Food Safety Specialist Susan Kendrick says Kendrick:  "Well, if you are going to pack something that needs to be refrigerated, it's a good idea to put a gel pack or a frozen juice box or something in the lunch to keep that cold lunch cold until your child eats at midday."  :12 Kendrick says proper temperatures are very important. So is the lunch preparation– using clean surfaces and clean hands in putting the food together. Choosing safe foods can help: Kendrick:  "If you want to go with non-perishable foods, then you don't have to worry about the refrigeration. So perhaps a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or crackers or dried fruit or fruit cups or something along those lines."  :15 Two other important tips– make sure your child eats the lunch when they are supposed to as leftovers are probably not a good idea. Also, tell them to wash their hands properly before eating. That's a good policy at school and at home.
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