When most people think of long term
food storage, pantries filled with canned goods is what often comes to mind.
However, we have to be very careful with what we store and buy. Things are not
always what they seem when it comes with food storage many products claim to be
made with the famed 25 year shelf life, but start to read the label and you
will find ingredients that will not last more than 2-3 years. This article will
teach you what to look for.
When looking at long term storage,
you must first look at the ingredients. Can you pronounce every ingredient? Do
you see words like hydrogenated, hydrolyzed, or Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)?
These words, along with many others indicate artificial flavorings, colorings,
and preservatives that can be very harmful to your body, not to mention
unstable.
Read the Label
If you have bought food go grab it
and let’s look at the label. If you see things like cake flour it only has a
shelf life of 8 months to a year. Keep looking; do you see soy bean oil, canola
oil, hydrogenated oils or hydrolyzed syrup? Those all have a shelf life of only
a year or two, yet they are being sold as 25 year food storage! Don’t forget to
also look for things like whole eggs or dairy as well. These ingredients simply
cannot last as long as these food storage companies claim and you need to be
aware.
To be shelf stable, there also has
to be the minimum of water content in the food. The FDA suggests that
dehydrated food, using any form of dehydration, must have a water content less
than 7%. The problem most companies find with following this mandate is simply
cost. Making sure the food actually gets under 7% of water content requires
extra time, effort and power, creating a path for shortcuts to be taken which
most companies do.
When shortcuts are taken, added
preservatives have to be used. By putting in the hydrogenated oils, food
storage manufacturers can extend the shelf life of lower quality oils such as
vegetable, soy, and safflower oils. These oils have a natural shelf life
of 18 months under preferable conditions. When chemicals and artificial
preservatives are introduced, they can store for several years, but they have
been altered to an unhealthy form to accomplish it.
When purchasing your food, make
sure you do your homework and read the label. It may literally save your life.
Finding a manufacturer that
believes in using natural, shelf stable ingredients means that they don’t have
to use the artificial chemicals to preserve their long term food storage. The
food is just as flavorful, healthy, and nutritious as when it was originally
sourced. When you are looking for good ingredients, look for real food products
that have been freeze dried and prepared to last. For example things like
tomato or onion powder chopped or grated vegetables. Also look for whole foods
like whole beans in the food, products that contain these types of ingredients
will be sure to provide you the nutrition your body will need, when you need it.
Is Your Food Protected?
Another thing to look for is
packaging, this isn’t always the easiest thing to see because many products now
come in the large white buckets. While the buckets look good they are not what
actually is protecting the food from the elements. When you open up the bucket
you will notice that the food is individually packaged in plastic or Mylar type
bags. This is crucial to long term food storage because if your packaging fails
your food will spoil long before its shelf date. A few things I like to look
for is the quality of the bag itself. Is it flimsy and folds easily? That’s a
bad sign, look for solid, quality bags at least 5.4 mm think so it will stand
the test of time. I also really like the resalable option so you can one use a
little at a time and still seal off your food.
The next thing to look for when it
comes to packaging is how the provider is eliminating oxygen from the food.
This will again provide the product a long shelf life as well as keep it fresh.
If the company only provides an oxygen eliminating pack in its product, that’s
really not enough to keep the food fresh. Look for a producer that fully
nitrogen flushes its food to eliminate all oxygen in each bag.
Getting your food storage doesn’t
have to be difficult. Don’t make the mistake of buying from the first food
storage company you see and getting food that won’t be edible in an emergency.
