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Long Term Food Storage

Majority of the food that you normally purchase in the grocery is packaged in such a way that it can last for just a few months to a year. Only canned goods can last for more than an year is the seal has not been broken.

By looking at the expiry date available on the package, you will be able to realize that the life expectancy of these foods are very short. Food manufacturing and processing companies are not concerned with the extra-long term storage packaging expenses simply because many people do not keep food longer periods of time.

For survivalists though, this does not apply as they might need to store their food for even years.

This necessitates preppers to repackage majority of the foods they purchase. Those foods can last as long as 20 years as long as the proper storage methods are used.

The use of proper packaging will ensure that rodents, insects, microorganisms, moisture and oxygen are kept out, this will ensure that the food is kept having a fresh taste with its nutritional value retained.


The Details
Gather Supplies. On top of the food that is going to be stored, you will need the required containers as well as other supplies. These include:
5-gallon food grade buckets
6-gallon aluminized Mylar bags
Oxygen absorbers

The buckets can be purchased locally at various home improvement centers; the oxygen absorbers and Mylar bags though have to be ordered for online.

Gather Equipment. Among the equipment that you will require are a vacuum cleaner that has a hose and a clothes iron or hair straightener that will be used for sealing the Mylar bags. Do not forget to have a rubber mallet that you will use for closing the buckets.

Pack Food. You will most likely want to be able to fit the largest amount of food in your storage buckets so as to save the money to be spent on storage. Place the Mylar bags inside the buckets then use dry food to fill them from the top to about an inch.

A lot of people put only a single type of food per bucket but there is a possibility of mixing foods that will be cooked together in one bucket. Use several bags within a bucket to stay organized.

Create a Seal. For the food to stay fresh for a longer period of time, the bucket should be sealed totally to prevent oxygen from getting to it. Mylar bags are ideal in doing this because they will melt together on the application of heat and form an air-tight seal in the process.

Using a hair straightener or hot clothes, melt together the bags’ top two inches while leaving approximately a gap of two inches unsealed at the end.

Remove Oxygen. This is a very crucial step involved in this process. Introduce an oxygen absorber into the bag. For sugar, milk, flour as well as other essentials needed for baking, you will require 750 cc of oxygen absorber for every bucket. For pasta, whole grains and beans, you will need 1000 cc of oxygen absorber for each bucket.

At this point, you will need to work somehow faster as the oxygen absorber works quickly in absorbing oxygen. As soon as you have placed the oxygen absorber in the bucket, use the hose of the vacuum to suck out as much air as you possibly can.

Seal the Bag. Having taken care of the oxygen, the bag should now be sealed. This is simply done in the same manner that you started the seal: using a hair iron or hot clothing.

Make sure that the bag is held closed when it is being sealed to ensure no more air sneaks in. Carry out this exercise very fast to ensure that the oxygen absorber is only used up on the air present in the bucket and not the air present in the room.

Close the Bucket. The food will stay fresh in the sealed bag but will not be safe from rodents. The flap should be folded down and then place it inside the bucket after which the lid on top should be secured. Use a rubber mallet to pound the lid down especially around the edges or simply force it down tightly using your hands.

Mark the Contents. Ensure that each bucket is marked with what it is inside. If you store more than one type of foodstuffs together, correctly put the quantities of either foodstuff accordingly. Do not rely so much on your memory as it could let you down especially when the items are to be stored for many years.

Store Food. You should keep your entire food stock in a cool and dry place. Even though moisture is incapable of getting inside the combination of the bag and bucket, you wouldn’t like mold and mildew to grow on the outer parts of the bucket.

The nutritional value of the food could be lost quite fast if exposed to a lot of heat while when kept in a cool location, it stays fresh.

The Bottom Line
Majority of foodstuffs that are stored in this particular manner will stay fresh and usable for more than 20 years. Even though the bag will not be able to keep out rodents, be sure the bucket will.

In as much as five-gallon buckets are water resistant, the Mylar bags are more airtight when compared with the buckets. By combining and using both, your food with have the optimum protection.

Oxygen absorbers are the main reason behind this system. They protect the food from getting oxidized and ensure that no insects survive insides your food as they will lack oxygen.

It does not matter even if there were some insect eggs present in the food as the insects will not be able to survive. Even bacteria cannot without the supply of oxygen. This method guarantees your food to be very fresh and usable when you open the food the same way it was packed.

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