Potential risk from carrying food

Maybe you are a thoughtful parent, often take your child to school with a nutritious lunch box you prepare at home. However, are you sure that the serving is still healthy for the meal? Experts at the University of Texas (USA) found that most prepared foods contain potential health risks.

In the study, scientists went to 9 kindergartens at 3 different times and measured the temperatures of 700 parts of sandwiches, yogurt and other perishable foods. They found 97% of meats, 99% of dairy products and 99% of vegetables were stored at unsafe temperatures. Although nearly 50% of freezer lunch boxes and 12% were placed in refrigerators, among 1,361 perishable food items were tested, only 22 pieces remained at safe temperatures.

The average temperature of the food is 18 ^o C, which is classified by experts as 'dangerous areas' because the bacteria that cause food poisoning such as E.coli, salmonella and golden staphylococcus grow at a temperature of 4- 60 ^o C. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that we do not use foods stored at temperatures above 2 hours or more. According to experts, children are very susceptible to poisoning, specifically, research shows that children under 4 years of age are five times more likely to be infected with bacteria that cause food poisoning than adults.