School children and workers who leave home with a packed lunch are at risk of food poisoning in warm weather, health experts say.
Four in five Australian workers take packed lunches, of which only half are kept cool, a Newspoll survey has found.
With bacteria growing quickly in warm weather, the likelihood of food poisoning is high, especially when cold meat, soft cheeses, pates and raw-egg mayonnaise are on the menu, the Food Safety Information Council says.
The risk is reduced by packing a frozen juice box, water bottle or ice pack with the lunch.
Children's lunch boxes do not need to be refrigerated if they are stored with a frozen item and kept inside school bags, away from heat sources such as direct sunlight.
Adults should store lunches in a workplace fridge or a cooler bag.
Where possible, lunches should contain low-risk foods including hard cheeses, well-cooked meats and poultry.
Fresh, well-washed fruits and vegetables, and sandwich spreads such as honey and vegemite are ideal.
Lunch boxes and reusable drink bottles should be thoroughly washed and dried before they are used again.
If they are damaged, the boxes should be replaced as bugs will grow in any cracks, the council says.
Food poisoning results, on average, in 120 deaths, 1.2 million visits to doctors, 300,000 prescriptions for antibiotics, and 2.1 billion days of lost work each year.
The estimated annual cost of food poisoning in Australia is $1.2 billion.
AAP
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