Bento boxes are all the rage on the school lunch scene right now, and why not? They're easy to use, they're super convenient, and they give parents a way to organize snacks without having to use a million little plastic sandwich baggies that end up in a landfill. But not all lunch boxes are created equally, which is something mom Grace Bollen learned the hard way when she popped out the lids of her children's bento boxes and found a bunch of disgusting mold.
Bollen wrote on Facebook that she noticed little black spots in the corners of the lid of her kids' lunch boxes, so she decided to pry the cover open.
"This is what I found," she wrote. "I’m absolutely appalled. I feel awful that my children have been eating lunch out of these. The children’s lunchboxes have been hand washed each night & left open to dry … ADVICE: don’t buy any lunchboxes that you can’t clean ALL the parts."
Bollen said the two lunch boxes were made by Stuck On You and Lunchbox, Inc.
The green one had been in use for around a year, whereas the blue one has been used for about nine months. Both were caked in dark mold that was growing just beneath the rubber seal in the lid that makes them airtight.
The photos left other parents pretty grossed out.
Many said that's why they use cheap lunch boxes with no insulated or airtight parts, or just keep food in separate containers.
In an update, Bollen said she's been in touch with both lunch box makers and they're working with their manufacturers to fix the problem.
In a statement posted to Facebook, a Lunchbox Inc. spokesperson wrote, "Like our customers, Eco Organics Limited (the trading name is Lunchbox, Inc.) is dismayed to see these images. The company can assure you it has been working hard to investigate these matters since they came to our attention this week, to discover the extent of these issues, and communicate with the manufacturer so that we can determine how we can best advise customers and also help those whose lunch boxes may be affected."
The spokesperson also offered an email address where concerned customers can send their questions: [email protected].
Mold definitely isn't what most parents are hoping to find in their kid's lunch box, but at least the companies are working hard to fix the problem and there's no serious harm done.
