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Food Storage Shelf Life
There are two very
different types of shelf life for food storage. One is best tasting if
used by such and such date. Everyone is familiar with that because it
is printed on the packages of food purchased at the grocery store. It
is the length of time that food will retain flavor and nutrition. The
other shelf life is food storage shelf life. How long will it last
before it is unsafe to eat? The nutrients may be gone; the taste is
certainly different than intended, but nothing destroys the calories
which makes it life sustaining. That is, until it reaches the point
where it becomes inedible when stored under ideal conditions.
Ideal conditions would be to store your food in a climate controlled
environment such as a dark room in your basement that will never get
above 70 degrees or below 32 degrees. Ideal humidity would be no higher
than 15 percent. To accomplish that you would have to have air
conditioning in the storage room as well as a dehumidifier. Plus, the
food would still have to be properly packaged to keep out air and light.
You should not store food directly on the floor, or up against a wall
because of condensation on basement floors and walls. Condensation
would definitely affect the shelf life. When stored food becomes damp,
not only does the product deteriorate, it can create an environment in
which microorganisms develop. It also fosters chemical reactions within
the stored food. If you have bulky items to store such as 50 pounds of
rice, stack two pallets and put the food on top of the pallets to keep
it off the basement floor. You will also need shelving to put the food
on so you can easily keep track of what you have and to rotate the food
off the shelves as it ages. I. Another helpful site is
http://beprepared.com. Note to readers: Both places also sell supplies
and equipment. A third site has a handy calculator that helps you
determine how much food to store depending upon how many days you want
to be in survival mode and how many people you will be feeding.
Many people want total control of their food and want to can their own
food, then pack and store it. This is great if you invest the time it
takes to learn which foods store the longest and how to properly package
the food. A lot more is involved besides putting a box of powdered
milk or a sack of sugar on the shelf and calling it good. Using
powdered milk as an illustration: Powdered milk has a two year shelf
life in the box as it is. If you put that powdered milk in a glass jar
and then put the jar in a storage box in a dark place, the shelf life
for life sustainability changes to 25 years.
Without a doubt, freeze dried foods last the longest and provide the
widest variety of foods. Nearly every freeze dried product will last 25
years. The advantage of using freeze dried food is it comes already
safely packaged for you and lasts up to five times longer than foods you
prepare and package yourself.
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