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Packed lunches and picnics

The question of storage facilities in school premises for children's lunch boxes should be given due consideration. As packed lunches are often made in advance, sometimes by several hours, and as they frequently include high-risk food items, such as meat, poultry, dairy products, etc., the potential dangers from food poisoning are real. Head teachers can play an important part, particularly on warm days when higher temperatures create a greater need for careful preparation and storage of food.

Firstly, parents can be given helpful advice and guidance on packed lunch safety, as detailed on the enclosed sheet which can be circulated to parents via school newsletter and bulletin boards.

Secondly, the storage facilities at schools should be examined to see if they can be improved. The following guidelines should be considered when deciding whether the present storage conditions in your school are suitable.

• Store lunch boxes away from heat sources, such as pipe work, radiators and air ducts.
• Store lunch boxes in cool, well-ventilated areas.
• Keep lunch boxes out of direct sunlight.
• Ensure that lunch boxes are stacked so that air can circulate freely between them.
• Encourage parents to use insulated cool boxes or bags and/or frozen inserts.
• Consider fund-raising to provide classroom or dining-room refrigerators.

Please remember that many manufacturers and mail order companies, suppliers of small frozen inserts for use in children's lunch boxes welcome bulk orders, often with discount offers, e.g. Thermos, Lakeland Plastics.

Local suppliers include Boots, Tesco's, Sainsbury's, Woolworths, etc