Cool lunches keep kids safe
Now back at school, many children will have returned to their daily lunchbox routine. The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) is therefore reminding parents to keep their kids’ lunch boxes cool to prevent harmful bacteria from multiplying.
An FDF and raisingkids.co.uk survey of 1,300 parents has revealed that 35 per cent don’t worry about keeping their children’s lunch boxes cool at all. Yet guidance issued by the School Food Trust last September on packed lunch policies advised parents that the majority of schools don’t have a fridge for children to store their lunch boxes in.
Helen Munday, FDF Director of Food Safety and Science, said: “Ensuring our children’s lunch boxes stay cool is important to prevent foods from warming up and risking our kids’ safety.”
FDF’s top tips for parents on lunch box food safety are:
- Check labels to see how ready- to-eat foods should be stored and for how long
- Tell your child to keep food in a cool place until it’s ready to be eaten – ideally not near radiators or on window sills in the sun
- Use enough ice packs to keep lunch boxes cool or try frozen drinks, such as a bottle of water
- Wash fruit and vegetables thoroughly before use, especially if they are going to be eaten raw
- Encourage your children to wash their hands before eating.
More information from FDF’s Healthy Lunch Box website at www.healthylunchbox.co.uk
Is your own lunchbox healthy?
Kids sorted, but what about the adults? Perhaps it is to do with health, or more likely with saving money, but whatever the reason, new research is showing that more and more adults are packing a lunch box for work each day, help is at hand for those thinking about how to prepare balanced, tasty and nutritious meals.
The Food and Drink Federation’s What’s Inside Guide website (www.whatsinsideguide.com) provides information about how you can use Guideline Daily Amount labels to plan meals that balance the amount of calories, salt, fat and sugar you are consuming.
(Back to healthy eating)
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