Nov 19, 2007 7:22 pm US/Eastern
Do Health Hazards Lurk In Lunch Boxes & Backpacks?
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
Your son or daughter's lunch box may have more in it than that juice box and peanut butter sandwich you packed. Lunch boxes as well as backpacks can harbor plenty of germs.
From classroom to classroom, students bring their backpacks and lunchboxes from home to school. The lunchboxes end up in cubbies or they're put in buckets along with all the others. The backpacks are taken out, put on the floor, some even dragged back home.
But while your child is in school, learning, playing and eating, the germs lurking in those very same backpacks and lunch boxes usually end up on the kitchen table.
Most parents like Angela Rey don't even think about it.
"The only thing I do is clean the inside of the lunchbox that's about it," Rey told
CBS4'S Liv Davalos.
So how bad can it get?
Davalos decided to find out under the direction of microbiologist Dr. Peter Kmieke of Kappa Labs.
CBS4 News tested 7 backpacks and 6 lunchboxes following all the procedures to carefully collect the samples.
After putting sterile gloves on, each backpack was carefully swabbed from top to bottom then each sponge was stored in a sealed bag to prevent contamination. Each backpack was numbered with a corresponding name.
Next, samples were also taken from inside the lunchboxes including all of the corners and handles as well.
All of the samples were taken back to Dr. Kmeike at Kappa Labs.
After a few days, the lab results were surprising.
"This is Staphylococcus, the same kind that is present in MRSA and in some cases can transfer. We found that on nearly all the samples we found some form of elevated levels of e-coli and staph," said Kmieke.
In fact, on one backpack, there was an unusually high amount of staph.
"900 counts per gram for a surface is significant enough that these areas should be disinfected on a routine basis," said Kmieke.
Kmiecke says a good rule of thumb is to make sure your child washes their hands with soap for at least 30 seconds, then rinse for the same amount of time. A good way to get them to do that is by having them sing "Happy Birthday" while washing their hands at the same time.
So what did moms have to say when they learned their kids were carrying more than their books and sandwiches in their backpacks and lunchboxes and bringing all that bacteria home?
"I think I'll throw her lunchbox out and start with a whole new one," said Angela Rey.
"Shocked totally shocked. I can't believe it because I clean out her lunchbox and backpack everyday. So I am very surprised," said Lena Hall, a concerned mom.
A good way to get rid of some of those germs on a backpack is by cleaning the handles and surface of the backpack with alcohol. You can also toss it into the washing machine about once a week.
The lunch box can also go in the dishwasher so that way, all your children will be bringing home from school will be good grades.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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