The situation
If you are a devoteebreakfast packages, then you are undoubtedly in the situation of havingbrought your lunch to work, store it in the desk drawer and keep your fingers crossed that it will last a few hours without refrigeration (especially if your office refrigerator is too full to store anything in it anyway).
What you are concerned about
Even though you can't even remember how many times you left your lunch in your locker as a high schooler without a problem, you still have a nagging feeling that it's only a matter of time before your turkey sandwich or room temperature yogurt makes you sick. (Snack AND lose weight with this boxPrevention-approved treats fromThe gift.)
The real risk
"The big problem is that bacteria likeE colican salmonella and listeria grow on food for so long and reach a level where they can actually make people sick if they ingest it," says Samuel Crowe, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Common symptoms include nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps and diarrhea, which can occur within 6 to 12 hours, or sometimes even a few days, after consuming the food.
The CDC estimates that about 48 million people get itsick with a foodborne illness3,000 die every year – so even if you've skipped lunch before and haven't gotten sick, it's just not worth the risk, especially if you have a health condition that affects your immune system in any way, such as diabetes, autoimmune diseases or cancer; or if you are over 65 years old.
BUT: 26 Methods of treating food poisoning
Just to be sure, sandwich,saladsand other meals with perishable ingredients should not be left at room temperature for more than 2 hours. Leftovers should also be returned to the refrigerator within 2 hours. Even if your lunch only contains one questionable ingredient, like mayonnaise, it should all be in the refrigerator, Crowe says.
And if for some reason your meal is exposed to heat (for example, when you go to work), the growth of bacteria and germs becomes an even faster problem:The food should not be stored unrefrigeratedfor more than one hour when exposed to weather conditions of 90 degrees or higher.
However, you may be able to get away with refrigeration if you prepare your lunch the night before, throw it in the refrigerator (so everything is cold in the morning), and then pack it in a freezer container.isolated food bagin the morning along with an additional source of cold such as an ice pack, Crowe says.
One lunch you might get away with and not throw in the fridge is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, since none of these ingredients are perishable, says Crowe. But other than that, there aren't many options — at least healthy ones — that fit the bill.
BUT: 4 signs of food poisoning
Briefly:
It may sound ridiculous, but almost anything you pack for lunch and leave out for more than a few hours (without taking the proper steps to keep it cool) should be thrown out to save you from possible food poisoning. Unless, of course, you survive solely on PB&Js, which we can't say we recommend.
At least now you have a good reason to invest in itmadpose is trendy!
Robin Hilmantel
Digital director
Robin Hilmantel is digital director at Women's Health, where she oversees editorial strategy for WomensHealthMag.com and its social platforms. She has nearly 10 years of experience writing and editing for national publications and more than 8 years of experience writing and editing specific health, fitness and nutrition content. In addition toWomen's health, her work has also appeared inTIME,Food Network Magazine,Cosmopolitan,New York Magazine,YOURSELF,Glamour.comand other publications.
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