Making a safe sack lunch for kids

If you don't include ice packs in your child's sack lunch, the food he or she takes to school will warm up before lunchtime.

That can be a problem if the lunch includes a ham sandwich, chicken salad or other foods that should be refrigerated to keep bacteria from growing to illness-causing levels.

In a study published in the September issue of the journal Pediatrics, researchers in Texas measured the temperatures of foods in sack lunches of preschool-aged children. They found that only 1.6 percent of perishable foods in the kids' lunches were in the safe temperature zone — below 40 degrees or above 140 degrees.

Perishable food should not be left at room temperature for longer than two hours (or one hour if the temperature is above 90 degrees), experts say.

Child care centers in Nebraska are required to provide food to kids, and bringing food from home is discouraged, said Janet White Phelan, executive director of the Midwest Child Care Association.

So any problems with warmer food are more likely to surface at schools, where kids don't have access to refrigerators.

For tips to keep your child's lunch healthy, safe and cool, read the full story at Omaha.com's Livewell.