Do You Follow These 5 Bag Lunch Safety Tips?

The new school year is either just getting started or a couple weeks away depending on the school, and Sacramento County officials are warning parents to follow food safety tips to keep their kids' lunches safe.

The Sacramento County Environmental Management Department issued a press releaseTuesday with a few basic tips.

Do you follow these tips? Are they too strict, or do they not go far enough? Weigh in below in the comments section.

1. Wash hands and countertops, as well as plastic and metal lunch bags, officials said.
2. "Soft, insulated lunch bags or boxes" are best, but other materials work. Paper bags can be double-bagged to add insulation, and "an ice source should be packed with perishable food in any type of lunch bag or box."
3. Use an insulated container to keep hot foods hot: "Fill the container with boiling water, let stand for a few minutes, empty, and then put in the piping hot food," the county press release states. "Keep the insulated container closed until lunchtime to keep the food hot — 140 °F or above."
4. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are "perfect" for brown-bag lunches, since they don't need to be refrigerated.
5. Don't reuse materials: The county warns against reusing paper bags, sandwich bags, foil and plastic wrap. "Unfortunately, once these items have been used, they can contaminate other
   food and cause foodborne illness," officials said. "The safest thing to do is to discard them."