How to safely pack school lunches

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About 48 million cases of foodborne illnesses happen every year in the U.S., according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — and children are among those most vulnerable.

As you pack those school lunches, food safety experts urge you to be cautious.

"If a lunch is not packed safely, any bacteria in any parts of the lunch will multiply,” Sandra Eskin, a deputy inspection service specialist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said.

Eskin said a healthy meal is well-balanced, including members of all the food groups. But even a good lunch can go bad.

That's why she said it's critical to pack perishable lunches in an insulated bag with at least two cold sources to ensure the food stays under 40 degrees.

“Those cold sources can be anything from a gel pack to in fact a juice box or a water bottle,” Eskin said. “You can stick the juice box or water bottle in the freezer, then stick them in the lunch."

If you packed the lunch the night before, leave the insulated bag open in the refrigerator to allow the cold to reach the food.

“In the morning, if that's when you take it out, then you thoroughly close it so that it stays cold until your child is ready to eat it,” Eskin said.

She added that it's also critical to prepare foods safely, which means washing hands, keeping foods that can cross-contaminate and using a meat thermometer to make sure you're cooking food to safe internal temperatures.

“That is the only way that you will know that the item, the meat, the poultry, the fish is thoroughly cooked,” Eskin said. “You cannot tell by looking at it."

Watch the video above for more tips on packing your kids’ school lunches safely.