2007 PRESS RELEASES
September 10, 2007
MAKE THE GRADE WITH FOOD SAFETY FOR SCHOOL LUNCHES
Contact: Marion Horsley, 804.225.3820
September is Food Safety Month and, according to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS), it is an ideal time for a quick review of food safety basics for school lunches.
Here is the lesson plan:
- Keep it clean
- Tame the temperature
- Lose the leftovers
Keep it clean. When preparing school lunches or any other edibles, be sure your hands, work surfaces, utensils, equipment and dishes are clean as well as the lunch box, containers and insulated bottles used to hold the food. Wash everything with warm water and soap after every use, including the lunch box or tote. Be sure to rinse and pat dry all fresh, unpeeled fruits and vegetables before adding them to the lunch box.
Children should wash their hands before eating. If that presents a problem, include in the lunch box a hand sanitizer or cleansing wipe to use instead.
Tame the temperature. Remember the basic rule: keep hot things hot and cold things cold. Bacteria tend to grow in the danger zone between 40° Fahrenheit and 140° Fahrenheit so to keep it at bay, maintain cold foods below 40° F and hot foods above 140° F. Use an insulated lunch bag to help with temperature control. Include frozen gel packs, frozen bottles of water or juice boxes to maintain cold temperatures for as long as possible. The juice and water should be ready to drink by lunchtime. Refrigerate or freeze all cold ingredients until just before packing them.
For hot foods, use insulated jars and bottles. Fill them with very hot water and let it stand for several minutes before emptying. Quickly add the piping hot food and seal tightly. To keep the contents hot, don’t remove the lid until it’s time to eat.
At school, it’s important to keep packed lunch bags and boxes out of direct sunlight and away from heat sources such as radiators or baseboard heaters.
Lose the leftovers. Any perishable foods including sandwiches, fresh-cut fruits and vegetables, milk, yogurt and cheese that are not eaten at lunch should be thrown out. Frozen gel packs and ice packs remain effective for only a few hours and cannot maintain temperatures cold enough to keep leftovers safe all day. However, pre-packaged, canned and shelf-stable foods such as peanut butter crackers, pudding and fruit cups will remain safe to eat as long as they have not been opened.
According to VDACS, food safety is an essential ingredient in school lunches and in all other food preparation, serving and storage. Here are four essential steps that consumers should take every day at every meal to keep food safe from harmful bacteria:
- Clean – Wash hands, utensils and surfaces with hot soapy water before and after food preparation, and especially after preparing meat, poultry, eggs or seafood.
- Separate – Keep raw meat, poultry, eggs and seafood and their juices away from ready-to-eat foods; never place cooked food on an unwashed plate that previously held raw meat, poultry, eggs or seafood.
- Cook – Cook food to the proper internal temperature and check for doneness with a food thermometer. Cook eggs until both the yolk and white are firm, and ground beef until the interior is brown.
- Chill – Refrigerate or freeze perishables, prepared food and leftovers within two hours and make sure the refrigerator is set at 40° F or lower and the freezer is set at 0° F.
Click here to find additional food safety information including VDACS’ guide, Keeping Your Food Safe, and a special section geared to children.