7 Things You Need to Know about Food Storage
You've probably heard of The Rule of 3's. You know, what it takes to make sure you stay alive. It's easier, I guess, to remember it all in 3's - the magic number. So here they are:
You can die in:
3 Minutes - if you go without air.
3 Hours - if you're exposed to extreme heat or cold without shelter or proper clothes.
3 Days - if you have no water to drink.
3 Weeks - if you don't eat any food.
Well, we may not be able to help you keep breathing or help you know what clothes to wear, but we can help you with what to drink and what to eat. Here are the 7 Things You Need to Know about Food Storage:
1. Meet Your Water Needs - The rule for water storage is ideally you want to store 2 gallons of water, per person, per day. This includes water to be used for cooking, drinking, and hygiene. And the minimum you ever want to store is 1 gallon, per person, per day.
So, for a month's worth of water, 1 person would want 30-60 gallons. The big blue 55-gallon closed-top water drums have long been the most popular way to store enough water for 1 person for 1 month, but there are other things to consider.
First of all, look around you, if you bought a water drum, how would you refill it? Do you have access to streams, reservoirs, or lakes nearby, or are you in an area that rains a lot or snows during the winter where you can gather water? You want to make sure that if you ever need more than your 1 month of water storage, there would be ways to replenish it. Either that, or make sure you have more barrels.
In the city, if electricity were turned off for an extended period of time, water would stop being pumped, and the pressures would die off, so people in cities, without nearby sources of water would be fighting their neighbors to collect even gutter water, which takes me to the next point about water.
In any case, whether you have 1000 water barrels or just 1, you should always have a water filter available. We recommend you have at least 1 Seychelle filtered water bottle per person, just in case you do need to drink gutter water, or water from a toilet, water heater, or pond in a hurry. It will filter up to 100 gallons of water during an emergency, and is the most popular filtered water bottle on the market.
For longer-term water filtering, our personal favorite is the Katadyn Pocket Filter. It seems to have the best durability and portability, and can filter up to 13,000 gallons of water before being replaced. This is great to have when there is less urgency and you have the time to pump and filter water into containers.
We include the Seychelle filtered water bottle in our 2-Week (15-Day) Emergency and 1-Month Emergency Grab-n-Go Buckets.
Now onto what you should know about foods...
2. The 4 Food Killers - We seldom, if ever, consider what a privilege it is to be able to grab a box of cereal, or canned corn, or bottled drinks, or a carton of milk from the local super market. We seem to not even notice the miracle of food preservation these days.
In some 3rd world countries, people spend 50%+ of their days planting, collecting, and cooking food just to survive one more day. We don't know what that's like because food is readily available, has been packaged for longer life, and we enjoy the blessings of refrigeration. But what if all that was taken away suddenly?
Without refrigeration, for example, many foods, such as dairy, meats, and vegetables could go bad within a few hours to a few days. And so will a variety of foods, unless you know ways to extend your food shelf lives.
So, what are the 4 food killers? Moisture, Light, Air (or Oxygen), and Heat. Stay away from these and your food will be optimally preserved.
Moisture, Light, Air, and Heat are what allow bacteria, viruses, and even molds to form or allow enzymes to break down food. They ARE the determining factors to whether your food lasts a long time, or on the other hand, becomes un-eatable.
Obviously, the best way to make sure your food supply will last and not spoil is to buy food specially packed for long life. Packaged to block out light, moisture, and oxygen.
For example, all the food products found on FoodStorageDepot.com, whether in a mylar pouch or a #10 Can (the industry standard food preservation can - about a gallon of food), are packaged to ELIMINATE moisture, light, and oxygen, so that the only determining factor left is heat. That's up to you!
Our foods are packaged fresh in cool manufacturing plants and put in cooled warehouses to prepare for shipping. Once they arrive at your doorstep, you get to figure out the coolest location to store your food.
Ideally what you want is a storage space that is room temperature or below. If you live in Siberia, you got it made! And, furthermore, you want to make sure you limit temperature fluctuations, which will also shorten food shelf life. (You DON'T want food to be in a place that gets to 100F in the day and 50F at night, for example.) The more constant the temperature, the better.
Often, if you store your #10 cans or mylar pouches of food in 70F, they will last 10-20 years, and at 60F or below they will last 20 or more years. Heck, if you store food at 38F, it would probably last 30-40 years, if packaged properly for long life!!
Also, you need to pay attention to the types of food, because foods such as beans, rice, grains, sugars, salts, or foods such as freeze-dried fruits & vegetables will typically last 25-30 years easily when stored at room temperatures. Those are excellent for any family's long-term food supply (see our #10 cans).
So, what else is there to know? Read on...
3. Freeze-Dried vs. Dehydrated Foods - Many people think they know the difference, but often they really don't. We see our competition left and right selling nitrogen-flushed mylar pouches. They "claim" these pouches lasts for 25+ years and then tell you they are "freeze-dried meals" when all they really contain are a few freeze dried components. The truth is, these pouches of food will only last 25+ years at very low storage temperatures. Come on, get real!!
Let's get educated on what freeze-drying and dehydrating really are. So, what is freeze-drying and what are dehydrated foods??
What is freeze-drying? Freeze drying is a process that allows foods to last longer and retain more nutrients than any other method, but because of the complex process, it usually costs a premium. Some say that freeze-dried foods can retain up to 95-99% of their nutrients.
Freeze drying happens when you take any fruit, vegetable, dairy, meat, prepared meal (e.g., lasagna, etc.), or other food which contains water and quickly freeze it to temperatures between -58 to -112F (-50 to -80C) to assure a solid ice state.
A process called flash (or quick) freezing is used to prevent ice crystals from forming slowly and damaging the constitution of the food. Flash freezing also helps preserve the nutritional value and overall freshness. The ice is then vaporized (without melting) in a vacuum process that leaves the food with only 1-4% of its original moisture (usually closer to 1%).
This food is then put in air-tight containers, with oxygen absorbers to eliminate residues of air, therefore making the food last 25 or more years without losing its benefits.
The result: a very light-weight, healthy, near-perfect preservation of food without the need for chemical preservatives. That's why astronauts, hikers, and families seek out freeze-dried foods for their various needs. Just add water and you and your family can eat food that smells, tastes, and feels like it should and is - real, nutritious food.
Once a can or pouch of freeze-dried meals are opened, you usually have to eat it all within about 2-4 weeks, where dehydrated foods, once opened, will often last 6-24 months before spoiling.
What are Dehydrated Foods?Dehydration is just what it says, it's a means of extracting water from foods in order to preserve them for long periods of time. This is usually done through extended low-level-heating (in dehydrators or in the sun), through wind, or by smoke.
Dehydrated foods are more common than people realize, and it's more than likely you've eaten them most of your life. For example, beans, spaghetti, macaroni, rice, pancake mixes, oatmeal, raisins, and so much more are all dehydrated.
Dehydrated foods are not pre-cooked ahead of time, like freeze-dried meals are, and dehydrated foods usually preserve more nutrients than many wet-canned or frozen foods found in super markets.
Plus, most dehydrated foods also last a long time, often 20-30 years.
So, do you understand the value of freeze-dried and dehydrated foods? Dehydrated and freeze-dried means the water/moisture has been removed, which means they last a whole lot longer than regular wet-packed foods (such as MRE's or cans of food at grocery stores), they store in 1/5 or less the space of wet packed foods, they don't spoil easily, and when packaged in oxygen and light-free mylar pouches or #10 cans, they can last for decades.
Now that's security & peace of mind for you and your family!
By the way, FoodStorageDepot's foods are either dehydrated, freeze-dried or a mixture of both, and professionally packaged for long-term food storage.
4. Packaging and Packaging Processes - Not all long-term food packaging is the same! That's important to know. You want to make sure your foods are stored in the right mylar pouches and the right #10 cans, and then packaged correctly.
#10 Cans - The most traditional way of storing food for the long-term. They're great for stacking on top of each other, and tough enough to resist punctures and even rodents.
Some #10 Cans though are coated to protect your foods and others are not.
#10 metal cans that are shiny both inside and outside are usually not coated with food-grade enamels, which means you're more likely to have metal leaching into your foods, causing your food to taste and maybe even smell like a metal can over time. Also, without the proper coating, your food is less protected from the dangers dents can cause to foods.
Coated cans, on the other hand, will have a slightly darker look on the inside because of the protective food-grade coating.
FoodStorageDepot only uses coated cans for our foods, which are a little more expensive, but we believe make a difference for our customers in the end, which is always good business.
Mylar Pouches - Are a favorite for emergency situations. They are easy to "Grab-n-Go," tear open a meal (better than gnawing through a #10 can, eh!), cook only what you need, and store the rest for later.
Mylar pouches usually contain pre-made meals or instant meals which again are great for emergencies. Think about it. During an emergency, do you really want to take the time and energy to figure out what ingredients to mix in order to feed you and your family.
Yet, to store food for the long-term in mylar pouches, you need the right mylar. You want it to be dense enough to block out all light, moisture, and oxygen, and strong enough to resist damage.
Some mylar pouches are so cheap that you can put them up to a light and see a glimmer of brightness through them. If you can see little bits of light coming through, that means that light, moisture and oxygen, over time, will be able to seep in and ruin your food storage.
FoodStorageDepot uses only quality mylars.
Packaging Process - Once you have the right #10 cans and mylar pouches, it's important to make sure they're sealed professionally to block out the elements.
#10 cans should always contain an oxygen absorber or two, if the food requires it in order to make sure ALL the oxygen is gone, and mylar pouches should at least be flushed with either nitrogen or CO2 to remove the oxygen before sealing.
Because CO2 is heavier than Nitrogen and more effective to flush out oxygen, most of all our packing uses CO2 flushing, with few, if any, exceptions.
5. Calories - This is one of the most overlooked parts of the food storage buying process. To just survive day to day, about 800 calories a day is the bare minimum for short-term emergencies, and 1200 calories a day (or 50 calories an hour average) is the bare minimum for long-term survival.
You'd be surprised how many companies out there sell food supplies that when calculated only supply 300-400 calories a day. How can you live on that??
At FoodStorageDepot, we highly recommend you get at least the 800-1200 calories a day minimum to survive during emergencies, but then seriously consider what it would take to have enough food supply to feed you and your family with about 2000-3000 calories a day per person.
2000-3000 calories a day, per person (average) means you have enough food, and enough mixtures of food to survive comfortably for the long-term, rather than just barely getting by.
6. Sodium Count - Salt is a big life saver, and yet at the same time, it could be a life killer depending on how much you ingest each day. But, few food-storage companies take the time to even mention it. Why is this important to know?
Well, the craze in the last few years is to buy pre-made, freeze-dried or dehydrated meals, but what nobody tells you is that they are almost always packed with excessive amounts of salt, often more than 2000 mg a day, which over time can kill you.
Don't get us wrong, pre-made, just-add-water, mylar-pouched-and-portioned meals are convenient and often essential during emergencies (that's why we sell them).
Yet, if you don't mix your meals with enough lower-sodium pre-made meals or enough low sodium alternatives such as beans, rice, whey milk, protein drinks, oatmeal, etc., you can easily find yourself getting sick, losing energy, having high-blood pressure, and having to drink ample amounts of water to balance the sodium out.
Our Gourmet Emergency Food Buckets, for example, have a good mixture of low sodium foods to make sure you stay healthy over time, especially during emergencies.
Remember sodium is important and can save your life. You should make sure that your food storage has a balanced amount of sodium.
7. Food Quality - Say you struck a great deal on a food storage package. You should first consider the quality of the food you purchased. Just because it's cheap, doesn't mean it's the best for you and your family. Be aware of the packaging, the ingredient content, and the manufacturing standards of the company you purchased from. You will find that a little research could save your life in the long run.
In Conclusion - We hope these 7 Things You Need to Know about Food Storage have helped you become more educated and better prepared with your food storage supply. Now it's time to get your food storage in place!