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34K views 57 replies 39 participants last post by  CaffeineBuzz 
#1 ·
I hope I have posted his in the correct forum....I didnt see a forum for long term food storage

Because of increased family needs, I am going to have to store much larger quantities of food and I need a little advice...

right now I have stored my rice in the following manner... I buy a 2 lb bag, freeze it for a week, then toss it into the micro for 5 minutes followed by vacuum sealing the bag with my food saver.. I use this procedure to try to eliminate "buggy" rice that develops if you dont take procedures to destroy the micro eggs in the rice....

I need to buy bulk now (25 lb bags) and quite a few... whats the best procedure to eliminate the "buggy" conditions that develope in stored bulk rice over time?.. I'd hate to have to break down large bags and repeat the procedure I described above... any ideas?...thanks
 
#2 ·
One of the best methods of storing food and easiest is in Mylar bags with O2 absorbers inside 5 gallon buckets. There are several thread here on just that. The process is real easy. Put the bag in the bucket and fill 90%. Add the O2 absorber and seal with an iron or hair straightener. Put lid on bucket and store in a cool place.

That's it. The O2 absorber will remove the O2 that bugs need to live. Within 2 weeks all bugs, including eggs and larvae will be dead. And the food will be protected from oxidation, bugs, bacteria and rodents (just check occasionally for these) for at least a decade, if not more.
 
#3 ·
Store bulk rice in 5-gallon buckets using mylar bags and O2 absorbers.

The O2 absorbers will create an inert atmosphere in which those bugs aren't going to do much, if they're even there.

That's how I store mine. I think your freezing and microwaving is unnecessary if you do that. And it's certainly easier to buy 25# or 50# bags of rice, to say nothing of cheaper, and store it that way.
 
#5 ·
+1 on everything said here. IF you're talking VERY large amounts use the same method already described and use metal trash cans(omit the mylar) with tight fitting lids. I don't store this way so I'm not sure how many o2 absorbers you need to include. Best way is to store in the 5 gal buckets with the method described above. Just store more. If money is an issue(and when isn't it) check with local bakeries. Most give the buckets away free. A little elbow grease and time to clean the sticky stuff but well worth the price.
 
#10 ·
( like everyone else said about the 5 gallon food quality buckets)

The freezing method for bugs does not work, mother nature is smarter than we are, those bug eggs sit in field in -40 degrees and hatch out just fine when the weather gets warm.

The enemy here is oxygen, mylar bags and oxygen absorbers is the way to go.
 
#14 ·
Have you ever seen these bugs. Most of them are really small. It's not like I can even see their legs without a magnifier.

And what's wrong with a little extra protein?

Ever eaten a hot dog?

There are 'allowable' limits of bug parts and rat droppings in processed foods as is.
 
#16 ·
I use food grade diatomaceous earth along with O2 absorbers. Bugs that hatch in an environment with O2 absorbers only live a generation or two before dying off. But the DE kills the larva outright. There's no real need for the DE since the O2 absorber will take care of the problem. I guess I'm just squeemish and don't want the bugs in there to begin with, or fear an O2 leak that would let them flourish. Just a backup, but it's cheap insurance.
 
#21 ·
You guys have made me a believer... especially that video... this methos will definately fit my increased storage needs... I used to think I had 5-10 years to be ready, but with the possibilty of the dollar no longer being the world reserve currency, we may have much less time...

everyone talks about the rising costs of food and energy, but if you get away from the knowledgable people on these boards, dam few people know it's not the rising costs, it's the dollar devaluating.... very scarry stuff
 
#23 ·
5 gallon FOOD GRADE buckets Either a little dry ice in the bottom wrapped up in a napkin and filled while its 'smoking' and cap it with the lid, CO2 suffocates the bugs, or use a little diatomaceous earth mixed with the rice to kill the bugs. Or you can freeze the rice bags for days to kill larvae/eggs and then bucket it. I like DE its microcrystaline 'glass' thats OK for us to eat. Its the grit in old toothpaste. Fed to cattle to kill worms organicly. And if the CO2 all leaks out 20 years down the line and new bugs slither in, they dont live to breed!!
 
#25 ·
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#26 ·
Bugs? What kind of bugs?

I have just packed our rice, beans, lentils, pasta, etc... in two layers of Ziploc bags over the years.... we rotate out stock constantly and are usually eating 5 year old goods and never found a bug accept in some pancake mix. Ity bity black little movers, could hardly even see them... (Probably should have just cooked them up for the kids... :) )

What type of bugs are you folks talking about?
 
#28 ·
Those little ones are weevils. There's also pantry moths (or the eggs and larvae that live in the food) and grain beetles.

But there could be all sorts of other bugs, larvae and eggs in there too.
 
#32 · (Edited)
Help Please

I was rotating my inventory of rice and found that I have 5 - 5# bags of rice in Mylar where the silver has come off the bag and the rice can be seen clearly though the mylar bag. This rice was packaged 08/12 and is still got the vacuum seal on it.

I hate to toss it all away - does anyone have any ideas why this happened? All the rest of the products stored that day look good (lentils, beans, macaroni) It is just the rice.

The mylar bags are stored in sealed rubbermaid bins. Avg year round temp here is about 82 to 90 degrees.
 
#33 ·
I was rotating my inventory of rice and found that I have 5 - 5# bags of rice in Mylar where the silver has come off the bag and the rice can be seen clearly though the mylar bag.
1. Where did you buy your bags so we never buy bags from that place ever...

2. When you open the bags you can probably blow the silvering material off the rice and still use it, and some people think silver is good for you...

3. But it's probably aluminum which is not good for you.

Rancher
 
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