Did you know that your child can get food poisoning from the inside of their lunch box?
To avoid foodborne odors and possible food poisoning, it is important that bags or lunch boxes are cleaned on a routine basis.
Ideally, a children’s lunch box should be cleaned with a damp cloth to which a little antibacterial soap has been added. The children’s lunch box should be rinsed and dried well. If your child’s lunch box can withstand regular washing and rinsing, it should be washed daily and allowed to dry. Never close or replace the lid on a children’s lunch box that is not completely dry.
Counter surfaces where prep work is done should be cleaned before removing any of your wrap/container ingredients or supplies. Also, your hands and any utensils should be washed thoroughly.
To protect your child from the threat of food poisoning, consider freezing sandwiches ahead of time or packing a frozen or partially frozen beverage or ice pack in your child’s lunch box. Most school lunches are left to sit at room temperature for about four hours. Frozen sandwiches, even in cooler bags, will thaw during this time, giving your child a fresh sandwich for lunch.
Sandwich freshness is maintained when you use fresh ingredients and prepare and freeze quantities for no more than two weeks.
However, it is important that sandwich fillings are selected carefully, as not all ingredients can be safely frozen. Good fillings include deli meats, cooked poultry and roast beef, low-fat cheese, peanut butter (and jelly), etc. Do not freeze eggs or sandwiches like tuna or salmon with mayonnaise.
Sandwiches should be securely wrapped in plastic or sealed in plastic bags without excess air. To ensure your sandwiches are used within the freshest time period, return all similar sandwiches to the original bag of bread and label them with a best-before date.