Back-to-school season is upon us and there are simple tips and tricks that can help parents and kids alike pack pathogen-free lunches.
Number one on the list? Handwashing
It’s the first step in avoiding foodborne illnesses. Sounds easy enough, right? Well, a recent study by the USDA found that 97 percent of the times study …
Nearly half of public school cafeterias in New York City racked up at least one dangerous health code violation this past year, including evidence of rats and mice, roaches and flies.
An analysis of city Health Department data conducted by student journalists at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism found 1,150…
Fall is fast approaching which means the back-to-school buzz is underway for school supplies lists, and grocery lists. Many parents will resume packing lunches for their kids during the week.
When food is left at room temperature in a lunch box or bag all morning, bacteria can grow to dangerous levels putting children and their…
Like an “oldie but goodie” in the “Back to the Future” movies, the “Buy American” provision in the National School Lunch Act is again being squeezed for political benefits.
Rep. John Garamendi, D-CA, wants to amend current law to require schools to obtain “waivers” before purchasing imported foods for lunch programs.
His waiver bill was…
It’s difficult to summarize what happened on the animal antibiotics front this year. There were lots of pledges, lots of discussions and lots of reports, but not very many actions. Still, we still wanted to recap what happened in the 2015 regarding animal antibiotics. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that antibiotic-resistant…
It’s back-to-school time, and, for many students, that means that many parents will be packing lunches for their kids again. Leaving food at room temperature can cause bacteria to grow to dangerous levels that can cause illness. Bacteria grow most rapidly in the range of temperatures between 40 degrees F and 140 degrees F, doubling…
Starting next fall, U.S. schools will have a new option for the type of chicken they purchase for school lunches. School Food FOCUS (Food Options for Children in the United States) and The Pew Charitable Trusts worked together to create the new Certified Responsible Antibiotic Use (CRAU) standard which will be verified by the Department…
A school food safety bill in Wisconsin would treat lunch rooms like restaurants in that someone on staff would be required to obtain a food protection certificate before the facility could serve students. Assembly Bill (AB) 37 is awaiting action in the Wisconsin Senate after clearing the Assembly on a voice vote March 17. 
Rep.…
The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) hosted a Twitter chat on Monday night about packed lunch food safety with Ben Chapman, associate professor and Food Safety Extension Specialist at North Carolina State University. Below, you’ll find some of the tips offered up during the #SafeLunch chat. If you have more questions, IFT is hosting a…
With back-to-school season right around the corner, the U.S. Department of Agriculture wants to make sure that parents keep their kids’ lunches safe. 
Children are at high risk of contracting foodborne illness because their immune systems are still developing. Children younger than five have the highest incidence of Campylobacter, E. coli, and Salmonella infection in…
After making a $30-million investment in a school lunch company, technology entrepreneur Steve Case has told Time magazine that the market can solve the problem that now has Washington, D.C., politically flummoxed. “I’m not running into anybody, on the Republican side or the Democrat side, who’s saying, ‘We believe in unhealthy meals,’” said Case, the…
