Vacuum packed food

[gemmamcdonald]

Hi All,

Has anyone tried to vacuum pack their food?
I'm unsure of this method, I've been reading about it and looked at the equipment and it's all rather expensive.
I've been thinking of getting plain buckets to keep rice/pasta/cous cous does anyone else have a good way to store dry food for a long time?

Thanks xx

[Cocotte]

Amazon

Personally I'd rather vacuum pack in smaller amounts and store them in food grade buckets rather than vacuum sealing the buckets as once the bucket's open, the clock starts ticking for everything inside it and any damage to the container means all the contents are liable to spoil.

I've seen a lot of people like to vacuum pack dehydrated food and claim their veg has over a year's use by date that way.
Unfortunately no personal experience of it.

[jansman]

Vacuum packing is good for extending shelf life of foods, but that is all it does-extend the life. It does not make it last for ever!
As a butcher, we vacuum pack fresh meat. Environmental Health regs only allow us to vac pack for 10 days maximum, after that it is a discard. It is the law, and for good reason: E Coli 157.
Now then , dry foods are another matter. I would suggest a 50% extension beyond the product Best Before Date. Never extend beyond the Use By Date. For good reason. Food poisoning pathogens.

These are not "silly EU laws", the UK imposes it's own very stringent rules. Regarding your vacuum packer, always make sure you ONLY use it for foods you are going to cook again-nothing else. The airlines in the machine can hold pathogens harmful to health. If you wish to use one for ready to eat foods(dehydrated fruit for example) use a different machine. You also need to ringfence it for that purpose. In the case of both machines you need a strict handwash regime, and use a Dettol type anti bacterial sanitiser and anti bacterial wipes.

Sorry to sound alarmist, but people died in Wales a few years ago because of misuse of vac pack machinery-hence the strict regulations. We have strict training in the trade, and a traceability HACCP system for due diligence purposes.

[yorkshire lad]

I bought myself one of the foodsaver's the other day, very pleased with it I've managed to vac-pack most of my rice and all my flour and pasta. I even managed to make a few ration pack meals for a stealth camp this weekend (which has saved me about £15 for extra prepps).
I bought it from argos, http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/p ... 297805.htm , it comes with Six bags (3x0.94ltr & 3x 3.78Ltr) and a 30M roll for £59.99 delivered. Hope it helps someone cus i love mine