Use an Insulated Lunch Bag to Keep Meals Safe

Posted by Nirav Shah, MBA, MPH, Public Affairs Specialist, FSIS in Health and Safety

Click here to get more.

No matter your age, the end of summer is also a time of beginnings. This means a new school year, new episodes of your favorite TV show and the start of football season.

Students, sports fans and outdoor enthusiasts all have one thing in common: packed lunches. However, some people still pack perishable food in an old-fashioned brown paper bag instead of an insulated lunch box. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, food is unsafe to be eaten if it&#;s kept in an old-fashioned brown paper bag longer than 2 hours. Insulated lunch boxes help maintain food at a safe temperature until lunchtime.

Why keep food cold? Foodborne illness can multiply rapidly at temperatures between 40°F and 140°F. This means that if you are tailgating or leaving in the morning for school or work, you&#;ll need a plan to keep your food cold. You&#;ll want to use at least two cold sources in an insulated bag to keep perishable foods in your lunch safe; ice or gel packs in your insulated bag or box work best.

Perishable foods, such as cold cut sandwiches and yogurt, can be left out at room temperature for no more than 2 hours before they become unsafe to eat. With an insulated lunch box and a chilled freezer gel pack, perishable food can stay cold and safe to eat until lunch. You can find re-usable cold sources at the store (right next to the lunch boxes) or make your own by filling a water bottle or plastic container with water and freezing it. Depending on how much food you are packing you may need several cold sources. Above all, choose a lunch box or tote that is easy to clean.

Packing a hot lunch? Use an insulated container to keep your food hot until lunchtime. Before you warm up your food, fill the container with boiling water and let it stand while you heat your food. Heat your food to at least 165°F, then empty the water out of the insulated container, pack your food and seal it tight. Keep the container closed until lunchtime so the food stays hot. If you are heating a cold entrée in your office kitchen be sure to heat it until it is 165°F, or hot and steaming.

When packing your insulated lunch bag, remember to add some hand wipes, so you can clean your hands before eating if there are no facilities nearby. When you return home and empty your bag or box, wipe the insides with hot soapy water and let it air dry so that it is ready for your next adventure.

For more information on packing safe lunches see: Keeping "Bag" Lunches Safe

Call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at (1-888-674-) Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET, or or chat at AskKaren.gov.

In my wider tested review of adult lunch boxes, I found the Hydro Flask Insulated Lunch Tote to be the best lunch bag on the market today. Ahead, learn more about the features that made it stand above the rest.

If you work at an office and prefer not to spend money on takeout, travel frequently for work or pleasure, or simply enjoy summer picnics or beach days, a lunch bag is a valuable addition to your food storage collection. Lunch bags help with keeping your food organized, secure and at the right temperature, ensuring your meal is ready to be enjoyed whenever you are. Following a two-week rigorous testing period of 17 of the best lunch boxes and bags for adults, I found that the Hydro Flask Insulated Lunch Tote stands out as the best lunch bag currently available in the market.

The Hydro Flask lunch tote offers powerful insulation, which kept foods at a safe warm or cold ... [+] temperature (with the addition of a slim ice pack) for at least three hours.

Hydro Flask&#;s lunch tote proved to be spacious enough to accommodate a substantial amount of food without becoming overly unwieldy to carry comfortably. Despite its ample storage capacity, the tote remained relatively lightweight, compact and streamlined. In contrast, the Bentgo Deluxe Lunch Bag, another leading contender, felt bulkier and less convenient to carry.

I valued the Hydro Flask lunch tote for its powerful insulation, which kept foods at a safe warm or cold temperature (with the addition of a slim ice pack) for at least three hours. During our family road trips, where we often pack our lunches and find a spot to stop and eat along the way, it&#;s reassuring to know that Hydro Flask&#;s lunch tote can keep food safe for an extended period. Additionally, I was pleased to discover that the interior is fully lined, making cleanup relatively simple in the event of any leaks from items like tomato sauce or salad dressing. Ahead, find my full Hydro Flask Insulated Lunch Tote review with details on each of the features I found to be the most impressive.

Hydro Flask

Hydro Flask Insulated Lunch Tote

Material: Polyester | Capacity: 34 cups | Insulated: Yes | Dimensions: 13.5 x 12.1 x 5 inches | Weight: 12 ounces | Includes cutlery: No

SANNE are exported all over the world and different industries with quality first. Our belief is to provide our customers with more and better high value-added products. Let's create a better future together.

Best for:

• Individuals requiring a spacious bag capable of accommodating multiple meals simultaneously
• Those in need of insulation for prolonged food chilling and safety

Skip if:

• You prefer a lunch container that can easily fit into your existing bag or backpack

Hydro Flask Insulated Lunch Tote Features

Generously Sized Proportions That Hold A Ton

The consistent challenge when packing lunch is ensuring there&#;s enough food to keep you satiated and full. Who hasn&#;t experienced the frustration of meticulously preparing a lunch&#;complete with a sandwich, pretzels and an apple&#;only to consume everything by 10:53 a.m., leaving hours until dinner? A standout feature of the Hydro Flask Insulated Lunch Tote is its impressive capacity for holding a substantial amount of food. I loaded the 8-liter tote with a three-tier, bento-style lunch box, a 16-ounce insulated food jar, a small bag of popcorn, a granola bar and two clementines, and I had no trouble sliding the zipper close.

The tote accommodated enough food to satisfy midmorning snack cravings, provide a substantial lunch and offer a small nibble for the afternoon, all without feeling like I was hauling a rolling suitcase. Despite its spaciousness, it remained lightweight and streamlined. While not compact enough to fit inside a backpack or shoulder bag, its tall silhouette makes it easy to carry, even on a crowded bus or subway.

Insulation That Keeps Foods Fresh Longer

When food sits outside of a refrigerator for an extended period (or is not adequately kept hot), the risk of bacterial growth increases. According to the USDA, to be considered safe over a few hours, foods should be held at temperatures under 40 degrees or over 140 degrees. Many lunch containers I tested, including the Hydro Flask Insulated Lunch Tote, claimed sufficient insulation to keep the contents warm or cold for up to four hours. To verify this claim, I placed a pint of frozen-solid ice cream and a small ice pack into the tote, zipped it up and left it on my kitchen counter for 3 hours. Upon checking, the ice cream was slightly softer, with some melting around the edges, but it remained notably cold.

While packing ice cream for lunch may not be the norm, the tote could be practical for transporting frozen foods and perishables from the grocery store. Additionally, it serves as a handy beach or picnic tote to keep soda, beer or water bottles chilled and refreshing.

A peek inside the insulated Hydro flask lunch tote that conveniently holds enough meals and snacks ... [+] to keep you satiated throughout the entire day.

Sophisticated Design And Easy Cleaning

As mentioned earlier, the Hydro Flask Insulated Lunch Tote is slightly too large to easily fit into another bag or backpack, requiring it to be carried on its own. Fortunately, it is well designed with sturdy handles, a self-standing base (preventing tipping or slumping when set down) and a sleek, coated fabric exterior available in teal or yellow. The bag is lightweight, making it comfortable for my journeys to and from the subway, and I particularly liked the slim outside pocket for stashing my cutlery and metal straw.

Cleaning the Hydro Flask tote at home proved to be relatively straightforward. Its fully lined interior can be easily wiped or scrubbed clean. Stacie Billis and Meghan Splawn, two of the experts I interviewed for the piece, recommended that lunch bags get a deeper clean once a month and suggested wiping them down with OxiClean or a baking soda paste to ward off odors and stains. After about a month of semiregular use, I haven&#;t observed any lingering stains or smells, but I&#;ll keep their advice in mind for future cleaning needs.

My Expertise

Drawing on over 15 years of experience as a food writer, developing recipes for publications such as Food & Wine, Bon Appétit, the Washington Post and Food52 and authoring seven cookbooks, I have amassed considerable expertise in food storage. In my role as a mother of two, packing lunches five days a week, I&#;ve developed strong opinions on the essential features of a lunch box. While kid and adult lunches may not always look the same, their storage requirements are often similar. In addition to testing lunch boxes, I regularly review home appliances for Forbes Vetted including hand mixers, ice cream makers and loaf pans.

To ensure a comprehensive assessment and avoid overlooking any crucial aspects, I sought the insights of three experts: Amy Palanjian, from the family food-focused website Yummy Toddler Food and the author of the New York Times best-selling cookbook Dinnertime SOS, as well as Stacie Billis and Meghan Splawn, co-hosts of the family food podcast Didn&#;t I Just Feed You, contributed their invaluable perspectives.

How Does The Hydro Flask Insulated Lunch Tote Compare?

In a two-week testing period involving 17 of the most popular lunch boxes and bags for adults, I found myself comparing a diverse range of options, from plastic and metal to glass. Lunch boxes varied, ranging from basic containers to bento-style boxes featuring either fixed or modular compartments for curating meals. On the other hand, lunch bags, typically made of fabric and resembling enhanced tote bags, constituted a distinct category.

The primary distinction between the Hydro Flask and its main competitor, the Bentgo Deluxe Lunch Bag, was in aesthetics and practicality. Both bags offered ample space to accommodate a substantial amount of food, insulation for keeping contents cold or warm with the addition of an ice pack, a convenient outer pocket and a fully lined interior for easy cleanup.

However, the key difference lay in design. The Bentgo, resembling a classic standard lunch box, was squat and wide. As someone who frequently travels by bus and subway, I found it occupied more space than desired, and I didn&#;t favor its appearance. While it provided both a handle and a strap for versatile carrying, I found it uncomfortable in hand or when worn over my shoulder. In contrast, the Hydro Flask Insulated Lunch Tote has a vertical, streamlined design akin to a tote bag. Even when filled with food, it maintained a slim, space-saving shape, offering comfort instead of bulkiness during transportation.

How I Tested The Hydro Flask Insulated Lunch Tote

In my quest to find the best lunch boxes for adults, I tested 17 lunch boxes and bags, recognizing the diversity in their claims and features. While there wasn&#;t a one-size-fits-all methodology applicable to every lunch container, I assessed several criteria to determine the best lunch bag.

Size and roominess were paramount considerations. I examined whether the lunch bag provided sufficient space to pack a satisfying amount of food, accommodating multiple containers securely. For extended periods away from home, I considered if the bag could hold extra items for breakfast or snacks, avoiding the need for takeout or vending machine visits later in the day. I also evaluated whether the lunch bags could fulfill these requirements without becoming overly bulky, ensuring that carrying them didn&#;t feel like lugging around a gym bag.

After size and roominess, judging the bags&#; insulation was key to my evaluation. Most of the lunch bags claimed effective insulation, capable of keeping food suitably hot or cold for up to four hours. To verify this, I placed a pint of ice cream and an ice pack into the bag alongside my regular lunch items and checked after several hours to determine if the ice cream remained relatively solid or had melted.

Lastly, I looked for lunch bags with stylish designs that were easy to keep clean. Given that most adult lunch bags are too large to fit into another bag or backpack, necessitating separate carrying, I considered each bag&#;s style. While this criterion is subjective, I aimed to ensure that the lunch bags complemented my overall on-the-go look rather than resembling a disheveled tote bag. I intentionally dirtied the bags to simulate everyday wear and tear, painting a stripe of tomato sauce inside the insulated linings, and later checked for stains, ease of cleaning and any lingering odors.

Should I Buy A Lunch Bag?

There are many benefits to adding a lunch bag into your daily routine. It reduces the reliance on ordering takeout, presents a more sustainable choice compared to single-use plastic or brown paper bags and, unlike canvas tote bags, is specifically designed to comfortably and securely hold food during your commute or trips. If you work in an office, frequently travel by plane or take extended car rides, or enjoy picnics or beach lunches, an insulated lunch bag proves to be an invaluable companion.

What Size Lunch Bag Should I Buy?

With various sizes and shapes available, the selection of the best lunch box or bag layout depends on the type of lunch you prefer, as noted by Billis and Splawn. Whether you opt for a variety of smaller containers with leftovers, an insulated food jar, a bento-style lunch box or a simple foil-wrapped sandwich and a piece of fruit, it&#;s essential to choose a meal-carrying solution that holds enough food for lunch and snacks without being excessively large or unwieldy. In my tests, the 8-liter Hydro Flask Insulated Lunch Tote struck the right balance between capacity and comfort.

How Long Can I Safely Keep Food In A Lunch Bag?

According to Billis and Splawn, &#;a well-insulated container helps prevent food from lingering in the &#;danger zone,&#;&#; where foodborne bacteria can thrive. The USDA notes the dangerous temperature zone for food storage is between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit. It is generally recommended to keep foods below or above this range if stored for more than 2 hours. Most insulated lunch bags claim to maintain a safe temperature for up to 4 hours (with an ice pack for cold foods), providing ample time for commuting to the office or traveling longer distances.

Want more information on Bulk Insulated Lunch Bags? Feel free to contact us.