If you've started on your emergency preparedness plans, and you're working on your food storage, take steps to ensure freshness. Some mistakes made during storage can shorten the life expectancy of your food. It is never fun to find out your emergency food has gone bad because of the way it was in storage. Here are four tips you can use to ensure the safety and freshness of your emergency food storage.
Use the Right Jars
When it comes to protecting your food storage, you want to make sure that you choose the right jars. Using ordinary jars for food storage can cause your supply to spoil. Not only that, but pests have easier access to containers that aren't secure. Oxygen-free storage jars will keep your food safe from air damage, as well as secure against pest infestations. You can purchase such containers at a store such as Bud Vac.
Maintain Proper Temperature
If you're going to store food for emergency purposes, make sure that your storage area maintains the proper temperature. Extreme temperature in any direction will cause damage to your food storage. However, extreme heat is particularly harmful. Unfortunately, many people store their food in the garage, which can cause problems where temperature control is concerned. For maximum protection of your food storage, you should store your food in an area that can maintain a constant temperature somewhere between 40-70 degrees.
Prevent Moisture Damage
Moisture is another problem that can damage your food storage. Too much moisture in your containers can increase the risk of mold growth, which can destroy your food storage. Unfortunately, most storage containers don't provide a tight enough seal to keep moisture away from the food. One of the best ways to protect your food supply against moisture damage is to use moisture-absorbing desiccant pouches in each of your containers. Adding one moisture-absorbing desiccant pouch to each container will help reduce the accumulation of moisture in your food.
Monitor Shelf Life
Once you have your food storage in place, you need to monitor shelf life. Once emergency food expires, it should be removed from your supply. The best way to monitor shelf life is to label your food with the specific time and date when each container entered your storage. It's also a good idea that you rotate your containers each month to ensure that the oldest containers remain at the front.
Don't take chances with your food storage. The tips provided here will help ensure quality and freshness of your emergency supply.
