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Top 5 Food Storage Mistakes That Could Destroy Your Preps
Wednesday, October 9, 2013 13:45
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Storing food is one of the core tenants for the preparedness lifestyle. It is the most effective way to help mitigate ANY disaster (both big and small) and most preppers have a significant amount of time and resources invested in their food preps. However, far too often, novice preppers make fundamental mistakes that render their food preps not only inedible, but dangerous. When disaster does strike, these preppers will find that their lifeline of stored food is not going to last nearly as long as they expected because they fell victim to one of the 5 food storage mistakes that can effectively destroy your entire stockpile.
Food storage mistake #1 – Improper Storage Area
- Your food storage area must have a stable temperature of 45-70 degrees. Any higher than this and the foods will actually begin to slowly cook inside their containers. Any lower than this and the cold temperatures can compromise the containers themselves or even begin freezing the foods inside them. A stable, regulated temperature is vital for proper food storage.
- The area cannot be in direct light. Most people already know that you can’t store food in direct sunlight. However, even modern electrical lighting can significantly reduce the shelf-life of your stored foods. If you are storing your food in a basement or some other open space, it is important to either keep them stored in containers or to put them in an area that will not receive more than minimal lighting.
- The area must be completely free of pests. Mice, insects and other critters are very good at locating food, even in a well-kept home. It is a good idea to put some sort of rodent traps around the food storage area just to be safe. Additionally, make sure that the area itself doesn’t smell like food. If it does, you will need to re-address the containers you are using to store your food preps.
Food storage mistake #2 – Improper Containers
- Your food containers need to be completely airtight. Not only will this help eliminate the food smell that can attract rodents and insects, but it will vastly increase the shelf-life of your preps. Sealed canning jars, sealed 5 gallon buckets (with gaskets) and sealed commercial cans are your best bet for making your storage containers airtight. Vacuum-sealed bags are technically airtight, however these bags are typically thin (which means pests can eat through them) so it is a good idea if you’re going to use vacuum sealed bags to put them into hard plastic containers for double protection…..READ THE REST HERE
