It’s that time of year again: back-to-school.

Alongside purchasing new backpacks and notebooks, it’s essential to also stock up on lunchbox essentials that will keep your child’s homemade lunches safe: insulated soft-sided lunch bags, two cold sources and insulated containers for hot foods, noted the USDA.

How to Pack a Safe Lunch

For cold lunches, use a soft-sided lunch bag and include at least two cold sources. You can use two frozen gel packs (not smaller than 5×3 inches each) or combine a frozen gel pack with a frozen juice box or frozen bottle of water. Place cold sources on top and bottom of the perishable food items to keep them cold. If there’s a refrigerator available at the school, store perishable items there upon arrival. Remember to leave the lid or lunch bag open so that cold air can circulate and keep the food cold.

For hot lunches, use a clean and insulated container to keep food like soup, chili and stew hot. Fill the container with boiling water, let it stand for a few minutes, empty and then put in the piping hot food. Keep the insulated container closed until lunchtime to keep the food hot — 140 F or above.

After lunch, discard all leftover food, used disposable food packaging and paper bags. Do not reuse disposable packaging because it could contaminate other food and cause foodborne illness. To learn more about how to properly pack a school lunch, go to fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/keeping-bag-lunches-safe.

Other safer options that do not require refrigeration include whole fruits and vegetables, hard cheese, canned meat and fish, chips, breads, crackers, jerky, jelly, mustard and pickles.

For more information about food safety, call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854), email MPHotline@usda.gov, or chat live at ask.usda.gov from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday to reach a food safety specialist in English or Spanish.

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