Lunch boxes are the best way of carrying food for a quick bite in the middle of the day while you’re in school, office or simply doing any outdoor activity. Going on a short hike? Or busy with your 9-5 job? Maybe you need a durable and safe lunch box for your school going kid. Whatever be the purpose, Lunchboxes are extremely handy and are closely entwined with our daily schedules and activities. This is why one needs to be extra careful while buying one. Today, there are innumerable Lunchboxes available in the market of different shapes, sizes, designs and features. It becomes extremely difficult for the buyer to choose the best one.
Ideally carried by professionals and kids, durable lunch boxes will make lunchtimes easy and quick. While buying a lunch box, you must keep in mind factors like material and Lining. A lunch box that is air-tight, leak-resistant and moisture-proof will keep your food items fresh and also prevent messy spills. Stainless steel is one of the most common materials preferred for lunch boxes, followed by food-safe plastic. For those who have a provision of reheating food in a microwave, BPA-free microwavable lunch boxes are the best bet. But there are many more factors that you need to keep in mind while buying a lunchbox. Read on to find out.
8 Factors That You Need to Keep in Mind While Buying a Lunch Box
1. Material
Plastic lunchboxes are not only a threat to your health as they may seep harmful chemicals like BPA into the food but also have adverse impacts on the environment. The growing plastic accumulation is a massive problem in the modern world. This is why you need to ditch that single use plastic lunchbox of yours immediately. You can replace it with a glass or a stainless steel lunch box or a BPA-free plastic lunch box. A glass lunch box is less durable and easily breakable that can cause serious injuries. Stainless-steel lunch boxes are more versatile and unbreakable. They are also more portable and lighter in weight than the glass versions. This makes them durable enough and easier to carry around whether your kid is heading to school or an adventure picnic. Stainless-steel is antibacterial and won’t leach any harmful chemicals into your food. Now, the best option is an insulated lunch box.
2. Insulation
You can use insulated Lunchboxes for keeping your food hot or even, yes! Cold. So, apart from keeping your food warm for several hours, insulated Lunchboxes can also keep your food items like cold cuts or sandwiches cold. Packing a hot lunch? Use an insulated lunch box to keep your food hot until lunchtime.
3. Keeps Perishable Items Fresh
Why keep food cold? It has been found that foodborne illnesses can multiply rapidly at temperatures between 30°F and 140°F. This means that if you are leaving in the morning for school, work or travel, you’ll need a plan how to keep your food cold. You’ll want to use an insulated lunchbox to keep perishable foods in your lunch at a safe temperature.
4. Convenient to Carry and Use
Lunch boxes come in different shapes and sizes. There are plenty of options in the market available today to suit your needs and a good lunchbox will be super easy to carry, dishwasher safe, microwave safe and super easy to clean and store.
5. Compartmentalization
Compartments in the lunchbox may vary from brand to brand and you can choose the one depending on your food portions.
6. BPA Free
First and foremost, lunch boxes should be safe for everyday use. One of the main reasons why you need to get a stainless steel lunch box for yourself. They do not leach harmful chemicals into your food like plastic lunchboxes. They are lined with no toxic metals or chemicals. BPA is a harmful chemical the leaches into your food when using plastic containers. This chemical is known to cause cancer. You can easily get BPA free insulated Lunchboxes at an affordable price.
7. Cost
A lunch box should be cost-effective and provide amazing usability for the money you pay. One option is a stainless steel insulated lunch box. You will never go back to a plastic lunch box after owning an insulated one.
8. Easy to Clean
When you are buying a lunch box, you need to look for materials that are easy to clean. Unlike plastic and glass, stainless steel is stain and odour resistant and easy to clean as well.
Last Words
Thus while buying a lunch box you need to consider if it is BPA-Free so that the lunch box is safe to store food inside, keeps Food fresh, hot/ cold and dry, easy to clean, has separate compartments to place different foods, microwave safe, is cost effective and lastly, safe for the Environment as well.