packed lunches - are they safe?

[loo]

I have not heard of any problems but it has worried me in the past especially in the warmer months - how are childrens packed lunches stored safely... fromage frais while in boxes with meaty sandwiches and ice packs how safe are they until lunch time?

I've often thought about this myself over my sons lunch but i console myself by keeping his lunch(made the night before)in the bottom of the fridge where it's coldest,then taking it out just before we leave the house.I take heart from the fact that his packed lunch has never made him ill nor have i ever heard any of my friends kids getting ill from their lunch.Does your son have a carton or a little bottle of juice in his lunch box,why not try puting it in the freezer overnight then adding it to his lunch box in the morning,this could help keep his food chilled till lunchtime and his juice should be thawed out by then.

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loo - this has worried me too and was one of the reasons why my ds has school dinners (that and because I'm too lazy to make sandwiches!!)

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I'm with Bloss on this one. As a child my brother, sister & I ate packed lunches every single day of our school lives and never suffered any ill effects. I think it is highly unlikely that food which has been stored properly before going into a lunchbox is going to go off badly enough between the hours of 8am and noon to give a child food poisoning.

yeah think you are all right good and simple idea about freezing drink thanks Loobie. It's just with some much having gone on in media about shops etc not storing/handling food properly got me thinking about how schools cope with all those lunchboxes especially when there is no alternative to packed lunch. Thanks for all your responses - sometimes it's good to air niggly thoughts.

I agree, it isn't the sort of thing it would ever cross my mind to worry about. My sister and I had them every day and were fine as were everyone else. I would rather that my children ate food I had made for them and knew to be balanced and nutricious than send them with money for chips and beans in the canteen every day! We can't and shouldn't protect them from every little bug and worry. But it is good to consider these things and make up your mind about them rather than just not care.

My son very rarely has chips and beans for his school dinners. Schools nowadays make a real effort to offer 'healthy' meals rather than the stodge of long ago.

ChanelNo5 - wish I could say the same for my daughter's school. She started school meals in Oct/Nov because I was sick of making packed lunches for past 4 years (had to do it for childminder). But I am appalled at what they get. Only veg on offer are peas which she won't eat and usually it's Smiley Faces or potato waffles with pizza or burgers and often just jammy dodgers for pudding! That's the kind of cack I'm meant to serve in the evening . I'm afraid I'm going to have to get off my arse and make packed lunches again. Should 4 year olds really be given a choice for lunch?

The primary school meals here are passable, even if their idea of a veggie meal is the same as the non-veggie version but without the meat! But senior school meals are appalling. Junk food, through and through. And even then, the children prefer to walk into town and get chips from the chippie because those are at least edible. Luckily my DD is fiscally canny and generally takes a packed lunch.

I believe there used to be nutritional guidelines for school meals but they were abolished in 1991. The Scots Exec is now trying to improve eating habits by giving children free fruit. Maybe they would do better to improve the school meals and offer free milk or fruit juice to drink. Whatever the cost, it surely would be cheaper than heart bypass operations etc.