I was sent this article to share and I also received one packet of Dettol Wipes (rrp £2) I wanted to share it because Dettol's research highlights that only 48% of parents clean and disinfect their child's lunchbox everyday and I was surprised by that.
Lunchboxes potential breeding grounds for bacteria
Research carried out by the Dettol Back to School Study shows that only 48 per cent of parents clean and disinfect their child's lunchbox every day. 1 This means crumbs can build up and the lunch box can become a breeding ground for bacteria such as E.coli, salmonella and staphylococcus aureus. However, a quick wipe with a dishcloth may not help as research has found that nine out of ten dishcloths in the UK are ‘heavily contaminated’ with bacteria.
2 Lunchboxes often remain in warm conditions in schoolbags for hours, without being refrigerated, meaning that they are in the room temperature‘danger zone’ where bacteria multiplies most rapidly, increasing the risk of food poisoning. In these conditions, one bacterium such as salmonella could become several million in just eight hours.
3 In order to help reduce the risk of foodborne tummy bugs, Dettol has compiled three easy top tips for parents to follow:
- Pack frozen water bottles into the lunchbox as freezer packs. This will cool down the food inside, helping to prevent it from hitting the danger zone, and the water should be ready to drink by lunch time.
- After lunch, children should be encouraged to discard all leftover perishable food and packaging, emptying crumbs straight into the bin. Avoid reusing packaging such as sandwich bags and tinfoil because they could contaminate other food.
- Wipe down the lunchbox with an antibacterial wipe, such as Dettol Anti-bacterial Cleansing Surface Wipes, before packing in order to kill 99.9% of bacteria.
Emma in Bromley xx
Yes their product works but just as effective is to wash the lunchbox daily then leave to dry, or if the lunchbox is dishwasher safe, put it in there as the temperature will also help kill off bacteria.
ReplyDeleteMy son doesn't take packed lunches yet but I'm astonished how schools don't have fridges for packed lunches. Few lunch items are ok not to be refrigerated. My workplace has fridges for staff lunches which are monitored to make sure they don't go outside temperature specifications. Sad we don't do the same for our kids!