How Long Your Food Can Last In Vacuum Seal Bags

Vacuum seal bags are great containers if you want to store your food and make it last longer. It doesn’t just make it last longer but makes it stay fresh to eat, as long as the seal bags are clean. If you’re wondering, here’s how the bags’ vacuum sealing helps make food last longer with these important functions:

1. It prevents oxidation – Oxygen is one of the culprits of food spoilage. It’s because when the fat found in food like meat, vegetables, and dairy products get openly exposed to oxygen, the combination of the fat and oxygen generates carbon compounds that result in strong and unwanted odours.

If you’re wondering why avocados and mangoes turn brown after a long time, it’s because of oxygen. It’s where vacuum sealing comes in, as it removes all the air inside the packaging and seals it to prevent oxygen from coming through.

2. It slows down the reaction between enzymes – Fruits and vegetables come with natural enzymes that when exposed to oxygen, leads to food spoilage. By not allowing air to get in contact with these enzymes within the bag, you can reduce the enzyme reaction in food, thus, slowing down the spoilage of food.

3. It prevents contamination – Bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms are some of the biggest reasons why food spoils, and as long as they get air or oxygen outside the food, they won’t stop growing. With these bags, you can prevent these microorganisms from growing further because there won’t be oxygen inside to keep them surviving.

Furthermore, no one likes it when different food or dishes come in contact with each other. It destroys the flavour and can be a way for microorganisms to come from one food to another. By sealing your food in a bag, you can be sure that the food won’t come in contact with one another.

4. It prevents freezer burn – Freezer burn is an effect caused by the combination of oxidation and dehydration. This usually happens when the water in the freezer evaporates into the air instead of liquifying. It results in the food’s moisture going out as vapour. When this happens, the oxidation will change the food’s colour, and the dehydration will make it dry and tough.

Using vacuum sealing, you can trap the moisture inside the food, which will maintain its freshness.

How to make sure that food lasts longer using vacuum seal bags

1. Dry food – Dry food like sugar, flour, pasta, and milk already last long, but by sealing them in seal bags, you can make them last even longer. You can make them last longer by as much as four times by placing them in vacuum seal bags. For example, pasta, which can last for six months stored in your pantry, can last up to even two years when vacuum sealed.

2. Frozen food – Frozen meat, fish, and poultry can last up to six months in your freezer if you’re not using vacuum seal bags. By using vacuum seal bags to pack frozen food and placing them inside the freezer, frozen food can stay good and be protected from freezer burn for as long as three years.

3. Vegetables – Different kinds of vegetables vary in terms of how long they stay good in the fridge. Some vegetables like garlic can last up to six months in the fridge, while some like broccoli and cucumber can only last for mere days or weeks.

If you can use vacuum seal bags to package your vegetables, one thing is guaranteed, they can last significantly longer. Also, make sure to blanch the vegetables for food safety and to preserve freshness.

4. Raw food – Raw food like cheese, fruits, and berries can last for around two weeks stuck in your freezer. But, when you vacuum seal raw food, you can make it last for as long as eight months. Of course, other types of raw food like fruits and berries have a shorter life span.

5. Cooked food – If the food is cooked, it won’t last as long, of course. Most of the time, cooked food won’t be spoiled for up to 3 days when inside the refrigerator. You can make it last longer using vacuum seal bags that make cooked food stay fresh for up to 2 weeks.

Tips about using vacuum seal bags to preserve food

1. Temperature is vital. While vacuum sealing can help preserve food, it can’t do the job alone. It’s not an alternative to freezing, which means you still have to ensure it’s in a place with a good temperature for preservation.

2. Some bacteria don’t need air. Some types of bacteria don’t need air to survive, such as C. botulinum, and without other bacteria that require oxygen, the area inside a sealed bag can be an optimal environment for botulism to grow without competition.

3. Use a good vacuum sealing machine. It’s to ensure that it’s perfectly sealed and free of air and contamination.

4. Wash your hands when handling food. To prevent contamination even before the food is in the bag, make sure your hands are clean and sanitary when working with food.

Vacuum seal bags can help you save money by not letting food go to waste so you can enjoy it later on. By prolonging food’s life by up to as much as five times, you can keep your food fresh and tasteful while also making sure that you’re safe from eating spoiled food. To get all the benefits of vacuum sealing your food, make sure to remember the tips in this article.