On your next back-to-school shopping trip, make sure to include food safety items on your shopping list to keep school lunches safe.

“Every day, parents focus on the health and safety of their children, and this focus includes how they prepare and pack lunches,” said Sandra Eskin, deputy under secretary for food safety at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). “Because children are particularly at risk for serious foodborne illness, food safety must be at the top of the list when preparing lunches for school and field trips.”

Consider the following for your shopping list:

Read more about USDA’s four steps to food safety  and get your food safe lunch questions answered by calling the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854), email MPHotline@usda.gov or chat live at ask.usda.gov  from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.

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