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This time of year, we are thinking of all kinds of ways to make school lunches healthier, some things they'll actually eat and how to pack it. But one of the main things is how to keep kids' lunches hot or cold at school.

A new study of more than 700 preschoolers' lunches showed that less than 2 percent of meat, veggies and dairy products were at a safe temperature! The study checked the temperatures of school lunches one and a half hours before lunch.

Of the lunches, 45 percent included an ice pack and 12 percent were kept in refrigerators.
The study, performed by Fawaz Almansour of the University of Texas in Austin, was released in Pediatrics.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that perishable foods kept between 40 degree and 140 degrees Fahrenheit for two or more hours are unsafe to eat.

Foods in the danger zone for more than two hours are at risk for developing bacteria that cause food poisoning.

Almansour recommends lots of ice packs in lunches and if possible, taking the contents out of the lunch bag and placing them in a fridge.

Check out our recommendations for keeping lunches as cold as possible.

• Freeze juice box or water bottle. It will thaw by lunchtime and will act as an additional ice pack.
• Items like frozen grapes, frozen yogurts and frozen sandwiches (sealed with a cookie cutter or Press n Seal type tool helps the insides stay put when thawing) also help keep things cold and taste delicious!
• Make lunches the night before and keep the contents in the fridge so they're good and cold. Only load up the bag/box the morning before. Many lunch bags are insulated to keep cold in, which also means that it makes it harder for cold to get inside, so putting the whole thing in the fridge doesn't help cool the contents.
• Use a washcloth as an additional freezer pack. Wet it and put in a Ziploc bag. Throughout the day, it will thaw and after lunch, your child can use it to clean up their hands and face.

What ways do you use to make sure your child's packed lunch stays cool?