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Post by Deleted on Nov 4, 2013 19:27:07 GMT 10
I thought I should post this to answer some Questions on Mylar and 02 Absorbers! I will also post where to buy! I understand Mylar from the US is expensive for postage and I hate that, but keeping food for years makes it cheap in the long run! So I had to bite the bullet and think of long term rather than the expense now! Ebay is even more expensive when you consider the quantity and postage you pay compared to 100-200 from the US! You can get Mylar from: store.lds.org/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product3_10703_10560_21003_-1__195615www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=mylar+bags Q - What is mylar? A - "Mylar" is a trade name for BoPET (Biaxially-oriented polyethylene terephthalatea). Mylar or BoPET is simply a polyester film material that looks like foil. Q - What are mylar bags used for? A - Mylar bags are used to protect food against oxidation and aroma loss, achieving long shelf life. Q - Is a thicker mylar bag like 5mil or 7mil better for food storage? A - No. We have found that a 4mil mylar bag achieves a 0% OTR (oxygen transpiration rate). A thicker bag does not keep anymore air from getting in or out of a properly sealed bag. Q - Why are oxygen absorbers used in mylar bags? A - An oxygen absorber is used in mylar bags to prolong the shelf life. They prevent food color change, stop oils in foods from becoming rancid, and also retard the growth of oxygen-using aerobic microorganisms such as fungi. OXYGEN ABSORBERS
Q- What does an oxygen absorber do? A - Oxygen Absorbers designed to remove unwanted oxygen inside a packaged environment. Q - Why is removing oxygen important for food storage? A - Removing the oxygen protects dry food from developing insects or growing mold or fungi. Q - Are Oxygen Absorbers safe to use with food? A - Oxygen absorbers are safe and easy to use with food products such as dried meats, baked goods, dried spices, bulk foods and other foodstuffs. Use inside a mylar bag or foil pouch to preserve the food for long term food storage. Q - How do I know if my oxygen absorber are good? A - If the pack they are in is still vacuum sealed and the indicator inside is still pink. This means no oxygen has been able to infiltrate the bag and the absorbers are still at full capacity. Q - How long do I have until the oxygen absorbers go bad? A - Once exposed to air the sachets will start to absorber oxygen. You generally have apx 30 minutes before the oxygen absorbers have reached full capacity. Q - What is I don't use all the oxygen absorbers in the package at one time? A - You can put the remaining absorbers in something air tight like a mason jar or another vacuum sealed bag to use later. Just make sure to immediately pull them out after opening the package and re-seal them. Q - Can I re-use an oxygen absorber? A - No, an oxygen absorber can only be used once. Q - All the air did not get removed from my bag. Does this mean the oxygen absorber didn't work? A - An oxygen absorber only removes the oxygen from the air inside the bag. Oxygen only makes up 20% of our air so really only 20% of the air inside the bag will be absorbed. Sometimes this might be seen by the bag shrinking around the food.
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Post by survivalstorehouse on Nov 17, 2013 13:36:16 GMT 10
Hi, What size bag do you think would have the most uses, I see 1 gallon/3.7L looks pretty popular?
Also if you could go through the most common sealing methods and give your recommendations that would be great
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Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2013 11:35:44 GMT 10
Yep, mostly 1gal, 5gal and .5gal The small ones are handy for spices and small quantities! the 5gal are for bulk wheat and rice and beans The 1gal is great for nearly everything.. I can put 300 tea bags in a 1gal, or 2.5-3kg powdered milk Etc You can buy heat sealers for around 200-300 in Australia But for cheapness I use an Iron! It is not a pretty looking seal but works fine! Have sealed over 200 1gal bags and not had any problems!
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Jason
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Post by Jason on Nov 21, 2013 18:27:32 GMT 10
Also if you could go through the most common sealing methods and give your recommendations that would be great Ive used this method of sealing the larger Mylar bags before and it works a treat!
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gilly
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Post by gilly on Nov 22, 2013 17:55:05 GMT 10
that is great! i will have to give that a go
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beckles
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Post by beckles on Dec 5, 2013 17:46:00 GMT 10
Ok probably a very stupid question from a newbie, but why store in mylar at all? is it because you buy in bulk? or will the packets in the shops not store long term?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2013 21:27:13 GMT 10
Because with certain foods (not all) you can get 30 year shelf life when stored correctly, ie, mylar and O2 absorbers. The current packaging on most goods assume they will be eaten quite quickly - maybe a year on most dry goods. Take rice: all rice and grains have weevil eggs. They don't "get in the packaging", they are in with the grain from the get go. If you remove the oxygen, the eggs die and cannot turn into larvae. The lifespan of the rice just went from a couple of years (with weevils) to 30+ years without. The reason why mylar is used and not just regular PVC, is that it is stable for 30+ years (no water/gas ingress or egress) and it also does not allow in UV light to destroy the nutrition content of the food stored within. In other words, it is all very long term storage and not something to look into until you have your short term and medium term preperations done imho. Edit: just a note - you don't use mylar/O2 for everything. For example wet food or food with a high oil content because this food can still break down sans oxygen by way of botulism which is very dangerous. Always research the particular food you want to store for the best method.
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beckles
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Post by beckles on Dec 5, 2013 22:30:34 GMT 10
Thanks for the explanation rastus that makes a lot of sense
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krisb
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Post by krisb on Apr 10, 2014 15:04:12 GMT 10
Just had a look at the sites and Amazon was offering me free shipping, pity I don't have enough money ..... or things to pack at the moment!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2014 19:11:17 GMT 10
Just had a look at the sites and Amazon was offering me free shipping, pity I don't have enough money ..... or things to pack at the moment! Sorry to tell you Kris, but that free shipping is US only! No One ships free to Australia
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anttam8
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Post by anttam8 on Apr 23, 2014 15:04:42 GMT 10
I have some of my food stored in mylar bags but was wondering if it would be safe to store some of my rice, beans and wheat etc in coffee cans. Does anyone know please?
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myrrph
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Post by myrrph on Apr 23, 2014 18:54:42 GMT 10
Just had a look at the sites and Amazon was offering me free shipping, pity I don't have enough money ..... or things to pack at the moment! Sorry to tell you Kris, but that free shipping is US only! No One ships free to Australia Not true! try dx.com if they have mylar, they ship for free! I've bought flashlights and stuff from them and even got 1 shipped to Melbourne!
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shinester
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Post by shinester on Apr 23, 2014 19:47:34 GMT 10
Safe? It's going to be safe to the expiry date no problem. Your food might smell of coffee though lol. If you want it to last past that, then the usual suspects for food life ought to be considered. One will extend your food's life, all will help much better.
Temperature - If you've got a shed that stays cool, or a cupboard, perhaps under the house. Ideally a cellar would be best, but we don't have many of those in this country. Temperature has been shown time and time again to be one of the largest contributors to food life. UV Light - Sunlight or any UV source will degrade food over time. So keeping your food out of the light is a good idea. Moisture - Moisture will make food go bad very quickly. For all life, including organisms that rot food, it's essential. This is why dehydrated foods last longer. Oxygen - Oxygen is involved in the break down of food, and also without air, many organisms that make food rancid can't propagate. Botulism is one food that 'can' propagate without oxygen. Keeping your goods in oxygen free containers will keep most [but not all] organisms at bay. Candles/o2 absorbers/steel wool/steel dust are some of the ways to remove oxygen, and you could also purge with CO2, or nitrogen.
If it's sealed from air and has the air taken out of it, then it will last longer. Some people use soft-drink bottles for this and with an air-tight seal and food grade plastic, it's a good option. They do have to be stored out of the light and it's a good idea they're a pain to store since they're round.
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anttam8
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Post by anttam8 on Apr 24, 2014 8:56:43 GMT 10
I don't mind my food tasting of coffee . The reason I want to use coffee cans is that the light wont get in and I was planning on using new coffee cans with oxygen absorbers in them. I just haven't mastered sealing the mylar bags properly and I can stack the coffee cans easier.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2014 20:05:12 GMT 10
Sorry to tell you Kris, but that free shipping is US only! No One ships free to Australia Not true! try dx.com if they have mylar, they ship for free! I've bought flashlights and stuff from them and even got 1 shipped to Melbourne! dx.com dose not have Mylar bags and everyone else charges an arm and a leg!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2014 20:08:51 GMT 10
I don't mind my food tasting of coffee . The reason I want to use coffee cans is that the light wont get in and I was planning on using new coffee cans with oxygen absorbers in them. I just haven't mastered sealing the mylar bags properly and I can stack the coffee cans easier. Just a note: O2 absorbers only work in Air tight sealed item like a Mylar bag! Cans, bottles even vacuum bags will leak air eventually! Canning jars and Mylar are the only good choices for proper seals! I seal my Mylar bags with a Hot Iron!
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myrrph
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Post by myrrph on Apr 24, 2014 23:01:29 GMT 10
Doc, tried alibaba or ali express? the rates are pretty reasonable to singapore considering u have to order in thousands
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shinester
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Post by shinester on Apr 25, 2014 14:32:55 GMT 10
I don't mind my food tasting of coffee . The reason I want to use coffee cans is that the light wont get in and I was planning on using new coffee cans with oxygen absorbers in them. I just haven't mastered sealing the mylar bags properly and I can stack the coffee cans easier. Just a note: O2 absorbers only work in Air tight sealed item like a Mylar bag! Cans, bottles even vacuum bags will leak air eventually! Canning jars and Mylar are the only good choices for proper seals! I seal my Mylar bags with a Hot Iron! Cans and bottles leaking air. I had to do some research on that one being sceptical. Bottles of soft drink do indeed seem to go flat over time with anecdotal evidence from coke/pepsi can collectors complaining of leaking cans and bottles making a mess, of people reporting that it's flat after years etc. Good to know, my avoidance of mylar as unnecessary has ended
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Post by Deleted on Apr 25, 2014 20:02:28 GMT 10
Doc, tried alibaba or ali express? the rates are pretty reasonable to singapore considering u have to order in thousands Yes, I was going to get mine from China but 5000 was minim order! So I found some places in the US! even with postage it is worth buying for long term food storage! I get around 200 bags per order! So fare I have Mylared 200kg rice and 100kg beans, 60kg pasta plus other bulk food (sugar, tea,coffee,rolled oats,spices etc...)and have a few left!(18months of food for 2 people) and my second order came 200x1gal and 50x5gal(for wheat and buck wheat)! I buy extra 02 absorbers from a Australian supplier!
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