Mylar bags and powdered milk?

[patriot101]

I bought a bunch of boxes of powdered milk (Great Value) and want to know if putting them in Mylar bags is a waste of time or the right thing to do. Will they go rancid quickly? I saw a video here and heard you need to watch out for animal fat in foods you store including butter. Does this mean my milk wont last even if i put it in mylar? It's non fat milk, does that make a difference?

[Illini Warrior]

the LDS people don't recommend the 02 route for milk ...... the professionals sell it canned

[Allamakee County]

Originally Posted by patriot101

It's non fat milk, does that make a difference?

That certainly makes a difference.

[vicdotcom]

Originally Posted by Illini Warrior

the LDS people don't recommend the 02 route for milk ...... the professionals sell it canned

But the canned milk also has an 02 absorber in it. How is that really different than a mylar bag?

[MadPrepper]

You say you bought a "bunch". How much is that? Will you use it up before the shelf date? Did you just buy it for LTS?

I bought 50 lbs a year ago and there was no reason to put it in mylar. When I open a 25 lb bag, I put it in gallon jars. It's almost all gone now....never any worry about it going bad.

If I could buy 500 lbs., I guess I would put 400 lbs in mylar.

[keystone]

I have one bucket of nonfat instant dry milk that I bagged and bucketed myself. I managed to get a whopping 12lb in a bucket, and made a big mess as it is so dusty. I'm not doing that again.

Compare with 21lb in a 6 gallon bucket from Emergency Essentials for essentially the same cost/lb.

I'm buying all my dry milk in #10 cans from now on. I think dry milk will absorb humidity much faster than other products so I'd prefer to open the smallest quantity I can at a time.

[patriot101]

Originally Posted by MadPrepper

You say you bought a "bunch". How much is that? Will you use it up before the shelf date? Did you just buy it for LTS?

I bought 50 lbs a year ago and there was no reason to put it in mylar. When I open a 25 lb bag, I put it in gallon jars. It's almost all gone now....never any worry about it going bad.

If I could buy 500 lbs., I guess I would put 400 lbs in mylar.

We have probably 100 pounds or more. This is only for use if the SHTF, so yes, it is meant for long time storage. I want to put it into gallon mylar bags that ive bought, but want to make sure its not an item that will go rancid. I'd hate to find out that we have to use it before its shelf life, when the only reason i bought it was for long term. Can it last?

[MadPrepper]

Originally Posted by patriot101

We have probably 100 pounds or more. This is only for use if the SHTF, so yes, it is meant for long time storage. I want to put it into gallon mylar bags that ive bought, but want to make sure its not an item that will go rancid. I'd hate to find out that we have to use it before its shelf life, when the only reason i bought it was for long term. Can it last?

LDS says 30 years. It can't go "rancid" by definition because it's non-fat.

We eat what we store. Wish I could get more than 100 lbs ahead.

[patriot101]

Originally Posted by keystone

I have one bucket of nonfat instant dry milk that I bagged and bucketed myself. I managed to get a whopping 12lb in a bucket, and made a big mess as it is so dusty. I'm not doing that again.

Compare with 21lb in a 6 gallon bucket from Emergency Essentials for essentially the same cost/lb.I'm buying all my dry milk in #10 cans from now on. I think dry milk will absorb humidity much faster than other products so I'd prefer to open the smallest quantity I can at a time.

I agree with the smaller quantities. I wouldn't want it 12 pounds at a time. But did you put it in mylar? And if so, how long did it sit on a shelf? As for the 21 lb in a 6 gallon bucket, does that company guarentee a long shelf life? It is directly in a bucket or in a plastic bag inside the bucket? Im really new to mylar and powdered milk, but cant imagine never having milk again if the SHTF and stores are empty for a long period of time!

[MikeK]

Powdered milk is generally non fat, unless you specifically buy dried whole milk such as Nido brand. As such, non fat powdered milk lasts very well packed with O2 absorbers. Decades. It'll only last a couple years or so in it's original package before going off.

[gitnready4it]

Up until now we only kept what we could use before it went bad. I'm gonna try some five gallon buckets,02 absorbers and mylar. thanks for all the info!

[goose3]

I pack mine in gallon mylar bags w/ O2 absorbers.

Yeah, it's dusty--you have to clean the mylar on the inside where the seal will occur, or you run the risk of the powder fouling the seal.

[sdprep]

Originally Posted by Illini Warrior

the LDS people don't recommend the 02 route for milk ...... the professionals sell it canned

Wrong.

I had a conversation about this yesterday at the Cannery. One gal Mylar pouch or #10 with O2 absorber.

If you have bulk I'd seal it in 1 gallon bags and drop them into a bucket unless you are a church member or know one. Then you could borrow a portable and can the stuff.

[MikeK]

Originally Posted by vicdotcom

But the canned milk also has an 02 absorber in it. How is that really different than a mylar bag?

Yep. Every #10 can or bucket of it that I've opened had O2 absorber packets in it.

[Post18guy]

most boxes aren't sealed per say aside from cardboard packaging I just put several boxes into 5 gallon buckets.

[MikeK]

Originally Posted by Post18guy

most boxes aren't sealed per say aside from cardboard packaging I just put several boxes into 5 gallon buckets.

Not much difference than just leaving them on a shelf then. The bucket is not the O2 barrier, the mylar is.

[ForestBeekeeper]

I bought four bags of powder milk 3 years ago. A local goat dairy had promised me all of their spring kids if I took them each the second day after they were born, and took both bucks and does without complaint, for a very low price [40 to 60 kids]. So I stocked up on bottles, nipples, milk, etc. Well as it turned out, they later decided instead to market their kids individually at much higher price. They finally got around to me when all they had left were 15 bucks. To which I said no.

Anyway I have kept these four bags [50pound each] sealed in a drum with a pound of desiccant for 3 years now. I decided that I might as well use it up on something. I am currently mixing 10-gallons of milk each day to feed our piglets. The powder is just as good as the day we got it. No clumps at all.