Bringing Lunches from Home to Work

Employees who take food from home to work are often tempted to let their lunch sit out at room temperature until lunch time. This is an unsafe food practice that can lead to the growth of pathogens and can potentially make people ill. Even though hazardous food may look and smell okay, it can still cause foodborne illness if left out at room temperature for more than 2 hours. Remember, pathogens grow best between 4°C and 60°C - and room temperature falls in this Danger Zone.

If you’re unsure whether you food needs to be refrigerated, read the package or if the package is unavailable, think about where you bought it at the grocery store. If it was refrigerated there, it should be refrigerated as part of your lunch

• Keep hazardous food out of the danger zone.
• Sandwiches (other than peanut butter and jelly), supper leftovers and other foods usually stored in the refrigerator must be packaged with a frozen gel pack or kept cool in the office refrigerator. A frozen drink can be used in place of a frozen gel pack.
• Hazardous food left out at room temperature for more than 2 hours must be thrown away.
• If you can't keep food cool, avoid packing meats, cheeses, milk, leftovers and other food  you would normally keep in the fridge.