# Long term food storage question



## Kodeman (Jul 25, 2013)

I just recently was able to acquire several food grade 5gal. buckets from a local bakery. I'd like to store some rice an also beans in them. 

My questions; 1. should I put the food in Mylar bags
2. should I put oxygen packets in the bags
3. What would be the best way to seal bags

I have a W. Puck food saver but I'm not sure if the Mylar bags will fit. Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated, TIA.


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## camo2460 (Feb 10, 2013)

Kodeman said:


> I just recently was able to acquire several food grade 5gal. buckets from a local bakery. I'd like to store some rice an also beans in them.
> 
> My questions; 1. should I put the food in Mylar bags
> 2. should I put oxygen packets in the bags
> ...


Go ahead and put your food in the Mylar bags and place an O2 packet in the bag, fold the open end of the bag over and seal with a hot Iron or curling Iron, then put them in your buckets.


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

Mylar is good and you can use a large size that fits inside the bucket, or smaller sizes and put a few in after they are filled and sealed. If you have a foodsaver, you can use it to seal your smaller bags. I have found that when I have tried to store things in mylar, it can easily get holes in it and then oxygen and bugs can get in.

You do want to put mylar bags in a secondary container as mice can and will chew through mylar. Some people have had this happen with devastating consequences.

Yes, oxygen absorbers are good to use.

There are lots of youtube videos showing people doing exactly this.


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## Beaniemaster2 (May 22, 2012)

I would put several oxygen obsorbers into the bag... If they are the small ones, one only does about a 1/2 gallon of storage... You can research online how many to use... And yes, an iron will seal the bag or like they said, a curling iron...


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## Kodeman (Jul 25, 2013)

Thanks to all that responded. I like the suggestion from weedygarden, several smaller bags seems more ideal.


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## JAR702 (Apr 1, 2015)

I use 4 gallon buckets with mylar bags but I use multiple smaller bags so when I open the bags I don't have to worry about using the contents before it goes bad or having to reseal the bags.
I also make buckets with a bunch of different things so I can just grab one bucket and go


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

Kodeman said:


> Thanks to all that responded. I like the suggestion from weedygarden, several smaller bags seems more ideal.


I take this a step further. If I get beans or rice in smaller bags from the store I place those as is in the mylar bags. 5 pounds can fit in a one gallon mylar bag.


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

I prefer to replace the lids for buckets with gamma seal lids. You can unscrew the inner lid and then close it back up. I have had an opener for the regular bucket lids and have broken 2 in my life. The gamma seal lids can be a little pricey at 3.99 or more per lid, but they are reusable and will probably out live our buckets. You can get them at Home Depot, and maybe your Walmart.

I do have several buckets of rice, beans, etc., but I have taken to storing grains, flours, rice, seeds, beans, etc. in canning jars. You can put the jar in the oven and heat it up, then the lid will seal when you remove it from the oven and it cools. You can also get an attachment for a food saver that extracts the air out of the jars. I store the jars in boxes and use cut up pieces of cereal boxes as a buffer between the jars to keep them from breaking so easily.


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## jimet (Dec 29, 2015)

Yes to the mylar and oxygen absorbers. I use one gallon mylar and 300cc oxygen absorbers and then put them in buckets and totes. You need to leave some air in the bags for the oxygen absorbers to work correctly. They have iron shaving in them and need the air to start the rust process. Before I seal the bags I just push excess air out and then seal with an iron. 

If you are storing sugar or salt then you don't need the oxygen absorbers in the mylar bags.


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## jamesc2016 (Jan 10, 2016)

Yes, I also use one gallon mylar and 500cc oxygen absorbers and put them in buckets. I found this book had a lot of good information on how to create a survival kit incase of a bad situation. It has some good food storage tips too i got from that book here. http://latestsurvival.com/freereport.html


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## jimet (Dec 29, 2015)

jamesc2016 said:


> Yes, I also use one gallon mylar and 500cc oxygen absorbers and put them in buckets. I found this book had a lot of good information on how to create a survival kit incase of a bad situation. It has some good food storage tips too i got from that book here. http://latestsurvival.com/freereport.html


Your link is not working. It show "Not Found".

Edit: Worked now.


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## readytogo (Apr 6, 2013)

*Food spoilage*

Food spoilage can be caused by a combination of various factors such as light, oxygen, heat, humidity and/or all kinds of microorganisms. 
Therefore in general every kind of food should be stored in a dark dry place and at a proper temperature to keep its quality, whether fruits, vegetables, cereals, meat, fish, milk or milk products. The industry also has many techniques for protecting food from spoilage: 
•for avoiding light - photoresistant packages, dark bottles for oils 
•for avoiding oxygen - canning, vacuum packaging 
•for avoiding heat - cooling 
•for avoiding humidity - vacuum packaging 
•for avoiding the development of microorganisms - pasteurization, UHT, freezing, chemical preservatives, irradiation
Bulk foods can and will spoiled as soon as they are open so re-package them is ideal especially into smaller serving sizes ,dry goods should be vacuum pack with oxygen absorbers as a back-up ,no lights and no moisture guaranties longevity , the ideal storage location and conditions for your long term food items should have a humidity level of 15 % or less, a temperature of 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit, and be totally safe and protected from insects, rodents, and other pests.If you have a storage closet you can set it up with a small air-condition connected to a humidistat for proper conditions, hope this can help you some.


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## Norse (Jan 30, 2010)

Best bet......

Use 5 gallon buckets with gamma lids sealed mylar bags.
I use these steps.

Take rice or beans or wheat, and put it in a stainless pot, put it in a oven at 110 degrees for 4 hours. This removes most of the residual moisture from the outsides of the rice and beans from being stored in non airtight packaging.

Use commercial grade mylar bags. Fill them while your storage food is warm to the touch, when it cools in a sealed bag it will collapse the bag to squeeze the contents.Use a good sealer, it is worth the money to buy an actual mylar bag sealer, Any break to the airtight seal will be detected by a loose bag. Place oxygen absorbers in the mylar before sealing by placing in a small open plastic bag to avoid direct food contact.

Place the bag in a 5 gallon bucket, preferably a dark colored bucket with a dark colored lid. Before putting a gamma lid on the bucket, wipe the seals with food grade silicone grease, there is one seal between the bucket and lid rig, and one between lid ring and lid.

Check periodically for a leaked mylar bag. In best case storage conditions, this procedure will make your stores last many years.


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

Here is another method I have used. Line your bucket with a mylar bag, pour in three to four inches of product, add a small chunk of dry ice, fill the bag with product, seal all but a small portion of the bag so that the expanding CO2 does not over pressure the bag, after the CO2 sublimates push any excess air out and seal. O2 absorbers may be added if you desire.

CO2 is heavier than air so as the CO2 sublimates it will push the room air out of the bag. A small portion of product is added before the dry ice to prevent the CO2 from coming in direct contact with the mylar as the extreme cold can damage the mylar. 

You need to eliminate 97% of the O2 in order to prevent bug eggs from hatching while as little as 3% CO2 will prevent bug eggs from hatching.


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