When you send your children to school you want to make sure that they are eating well and eating safely. If you send your child to school with his or her own bag lunch, make sure that you get into the habit of following food safety guidelines before you pack the lunch. Teach your kids food safety, because food safety for kids is just as important as it is for adults.

Keep cold foods cold and warm foods warm. Using an insulated lunch box and containers will help you accomplish this. Pack just enough perishable food for your child to finish in their lunch period. This will prevent their exposure to food that has gone bad. If your kid brings home leftovers and you are not sure if they have gone bad, do not chance it. Just throw it away. Food safety for kids is more important than saving food.

If anything in your kids lunch needed to be cooked, be sure that it was cooked thoroughly before you pack it. Raw meats and poultry can contain harmful bacteria that could make you or your child sick.

Avoid cross contamination of certain foods. After handling raw meat or poultry, thoroughly clean any utensils, cutting boards, or any surfaces that you used. Also be sure to wash your hands with soap and warm water before and after handling any other food. Otherwise, you run the risk of harmful bacteria being transferred onto food that does not require cooking before you eat it.

Teach your kids food safety in order to pass these habits on to them. Children have many chances to catch illnesses at school, but practicing good food safety for kids can cut down on the risk.