Interesting comment on this subject: http://freerangekids.wordpress.com/2011/08/29/whats-the-difference-between-a-sack-lunch-a-recently-beating-heart/

Perunica - Interesting article. I remember going to summer camp and eating a deviled ham sandwich WITH MAYONNAISE (and wilted lettuce) that had been sitting in my hot backpack for a good 5-6 hours. I did this every day and never got sick. But now I would never dream of sending my kid with something like that. I would cool it, but really it's just because I worry about everything. I don't really think he'd get sick but I want to prevent it as much as possible.

I agree, I think this is overblown. Just pack common sense foods. The kids will be fine.

@Megan: I spent half my week at summer camp puking in the nursing station because of the same sandwich. Still makes me angry. Would packing them in a cooler really have killed them?

This is interesting, though. I don’t refrigerate my own brown bag lunch at work. My mother only worried about it on field trips, where we’d be in hot buses or leaving our backpacks out in the sun. She would freeze my water bottle overnight, so it would act as an ice pack. Plus, I’d have ice water at lunch. Win-win.

It all depends on what you pack. Warm cream cheese or sealed yogurt or cured meats (like salami or pepperoni) doesn’t seem threatening. I suppose it was the advantage of living off peanut butter, which isn’t as perishable as lunchmeat or egg salad – but also isn’t an option at most schools these days, either. (As a parents of a child with peanut allergies, I’m not complaining).

My mom would also freeze some juice or water then wrap it in a paper towel and then some tin foil. It would keep the whole lunch cool.

Oh this is just silly. I don't think parents who chill their childrens' lunches are overprotective at all, but your child's body wasn't meant to be in a bubble either. I was raised to believe along these paranoid lines, and after meeting and marrying my husband (who would eat 2-day-old pizza, among other gross things), I've also fallen into the "unsafe" habit of eating the previous night's dinner--for breakfast. The next day. Without it having been refrigerated for 10 full house, because I had forgotten after dinner, and I'll be darned if I waste perfectly good food. And ya know what? It's been several years, and I haven't been sick once.

Ice pack the crap out lunch it if offers you peace of mind, but scare tactic headlines like this are ridiculous.
And no, I won't be buying whatever expensive, ultra-insulated "keep your kid's lunch cooler and safer!" product comes out next because of hype like this.

I pack my daughters' lunches in an insulated lunch box with a plastic blue ice. I've never had any problems with them, but they don't like mayonnaise anyway, so that's not a problem. I like that the blue ice keeps the lunches colder, not only because it will keep them safer, longer, (not that I'm too concerned about the safety) but because I think most lunch box foods also taste better if they are colder. My 5-yr old also takes milk in a leak-proof sippy cup in her lunch box, and to keep it cold longer (who wants warm milk??) I freeze some milk in ice cube trays and put a few in the cup with the liquid milk. Works great!

FYI, mayonnaise isn't typically the culprit for food poisoning. There's so much vinegar, it acts as a preservative.

Have you checked out PackIt the freezable lunch box? The product is great and keeps lunch cold for up to 10 hours!!!!! I love it! All you do is freeze it for 12-14 hours before and it both keeps it cold and creates cold. Check it out at packit.com