In regards to isothermic bags and using them to store lunch (e.g. at the office or while going for an excursion). Is there anything to watch out in regards to food safety? I mean are they are meant to be used for specific types of food/conditions?
1 Answer
Your concern is always temperature control. If it doesn't keep perishable food below 40F (4.5C) you can keep it there for there for about 2 hours safely. Otherwise, you need a refrigerator.
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Do these kind of bags achieve this temperature? They claim they retain the food's temperature. So if the food is at bellow 4.5C it is kept like that right?– JimCommented Mar 18 at 19:51
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1I am not sure what you mean by "achieve this temperature." None of these are perfect insulators, and none are refrigerators. To maximize the maintenance of cold storage, you would need to chill or freeze the bag, put cold food in, and use an ice pack or similar. Even then, the temperature in the bag will continue to rise (unless it is in a refrigerator). The only way to know for sure is to actually measure the temperature.– moscafjCommented Mar 18 at 19:59
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I see what you mean. Is that also the case with isothermal containers?– JimCommented Mar 18 at 23:17
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@Jim: Well, these bags describe themselves as "isothermal bags" and say that they "allow[] you to maintain the temperature of your products for periods ranging from 30mn to 1h30". (The use-case for those bags is businesses that sell heat-sensitive products, so their concern is probably just with their customers being able to keep the product cold enough on the drive home.) Other "isothermal bags" may make stronger promises, but clearly the term "isothermal bag" alone is not enough to imply anything stronger.– ruakhCommented Mar 19 at 7:54
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@ruakh: So an isothermal bag inside an isothermic container is even better?– JimCommented Mar 21 at 23:05