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More than 50 million youth are expected to attend U.S. schools this fall, and a good portion will be taking their own lunches to school. To help parents and caregivers prepare to-go meals safely, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) offers some advice.

Homemade school lunches strive to contain healthy nutrients to fuel the day, but perishable lunches do the body no good if they cross over to the “Danger Zone” in poorly insulated bags with no cooling or heating option. If these lunches are kept in temperatures between 40 F and 140 F for more than two hours (or one hour when it’s 90 F outside), bacteria will multiply quickly and make food unsafe. Here are some tips:

Learn how to keep meals safe with USDA’s Four Steps to Food Safety. For more information, contact the Meat and Poultry Hotline from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday via:

Want a reminder about safe internal temperatures for meat, poultry, fish and egg? Order a free USDA Kitchen Magnet.