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PARKERSBURG — As parents get ready to send their children back to school, the environmental health section of the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department wants to remind them how to pack school lunches so they are safe to eat at lunchtime.

Before beginning to pack lunches, make sure to wash your hands with soap and warm water for 20 seconds. Also wash cutting boards, dishes, utensils and countertops with hot soapy water after preparing each food item and before you go on to the next item. A solution of one tablespoon of unscented, liquid chlorine bleach in one gallon of water may be used to sanitize surfaces and utensils.

Food safety isn’t just about the food – the lunch container itself can harbor dangerous bacteria if not cleaned regularly. Throwing away any trash and/or food scraps during lunch time will help keep the container from developing odors or growing bacteria. Don’t reuse sandwich bags. When you return home and empty the container, wipe the insides with hot soapy water, and let it air dry so that it is ready for the next day.

Safe foods to pack for room temperature transport include bread, crackers, bagels, fresh fruit (except cut melon), dried fruit, juice boxes, water, raw vegetables like carrots, celery, cucumber, or cherry tomatoes, hard cheese, pickles, pretzels, pudding cups, cookies, cereal bars, granola bars, nuts, or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Refrigerated foods brought from home won’t stay safe long without a way of keeping them cold. Harmful bacteria multiply rapidly in temperatures between 40 degrees F and 135 degrees F. However, if they are kept cold until lunchtime, foods like meat, poultry, fish, tofu, cooked vegetables, pasta, rice, eggs, and dairy products (milk, soft and semi-soft cheese, and yogurt), can be kept safe.

Prepare the food the night before and then refrigerate it. Use an insulated lunchbox or bag to pack your lunch in the morning and pack at least two cold sources, such as frozen bottles of water, frozen juice boxes, or frozen gel packs. Place the most perishable foods closest to the cold sources and pack just the amount of perishable food that can be eaten at lunchtime. Discard all leftover perishable foods.

Always remember to wash your hands before eating. If there are no facilities nearby, when packing lunch, remember to add some hand wipes so hands can be cleaned before and after eating.

The Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department serves Wood, Wirt, Calhoun, Pleasants, Ritchie and Roane counties. Its main office is located at 1824 Murdoch Ave. in Parkersburg. The offices are open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call 304-485-7374 or visit the website, movhd.com for more information. Follow them at Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department MOVHD on Facebook, @MOVHealthDept on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube and look for them on LinkedIn.