[Dorsai]

If I stick rice, beans, or other dry goods in the freezer for a couple of weeks right after I buy them to kill off any bugs that may be in them, do I still need to worry about using o2 absorbers when I put them in long term storage?

 

[BrowserCat]

Yes, because freezing and oxygen absorbers deal with two different parts of the problems you can encounter.

Freezing kills any bugs, oxygen absorbers remove...oxygen [think: air]. Vacuum packaging does pretty much the same thing AFAIK, so I vac-pack and then freeze for 48 hours.

 

[Kfdiesel]

both are essential for long term grain storage.

 

[danger]

Before I ordered oxygen absorbers I vacuum sealed some dry food in bags and put them in the deep freeze for a few days. I plan on rotating those items and using them first. I will probably start to add O2 abs when vac sealing, and still freeze just to be safe.

I have been ordering as much as possible in #10 cans. My thought process is although it's a little more expensive the content amounts are smaller so I worry less about freshness and spoilage. It might also be easier to trade or barter with, but I'm just guessing.

 

[RonPaulGal]

I have vac-sealed 25 lb. of rice and 8 lb. beans with my Seal-A-Meal machine.
One bag of rice is solidly sealed, and is very rigid. The other bag of rice started
out that way, but a few days later, it seems to have shifted a bit and the
rice is not solid/rigid. Same thing with the beans. Did I not get a good seal
on those two bags? Should I open and re-seal? I just bought the S-A-M a
month ago, and aside from some chicken breasts and hamburger, this was
my first attempt at sealing larger quantity/weight items.

Also, I was considering freezing them for a period of time to ensure bugs are gone.
I don't intend to keep them in a freezer beyond 48 hours or so. My concern is
when they adjust to room temperature, is there any chance that moisture
would occur due to thawing? Could that cause damage/mold/etc. to the rice
and/or beans? Also - is freezing 48 hours long enough?

Sorry for so many questions! Thanks much!

 

[family man]

I'm interested in the moisture question too. Can you freeze wheat like that as well?

 

[danger]

Did I not get a good seal
on those two bags? Should I open and re-seal?

I'm certainly no expert, but will share my personal experience. I had the very same thing happen with race. Maybe the bag I used was faulty, or the seal wasn't good, but a couple out of a large batch didn't stay sealed. I did repack those. I hate to waste bags, but better safe than sorry.

My concern is when they adjust to room temperature, is there any chance that moisture would occur due to thawing? Could that cause damage/mold/etc. to the rice and/or beans? Also - is freezing 48 hours long enough?

I was worried about moisture too. I dated everything as to when it was purchased, sealed, and frozen so I can rotate and use accordingly. I check every now and then for bad seals or signs of moisture and mold. So far, so good, but rice absorbs moisture, so it is hard to tell. O2 absorbers might help, I'll experiment with that and try to follow up.

I keep stuff frozen for 4 to 5 days. It's probably overkill, but again, better safe than sorry. If and when I run out of freezer space I might reduce that to 72 hours, but no less.

I'm super paranoid about food. I had really bad food poisoning once over the holidays. The first 2 days I honestly thought I was going to die. The next 3 days I was wishing I had. Horrible experience.

 

[Halkon]

I fyou seal it while cold with O2s it won't suck up moisture (seal it frozen)
When it warms i may not be as tight, but the absorbers should hold it if you got a seal

This is really not a food poisoning issue, it's a long term storage issue. If you have excess moisture it could mold, but it would be obvious and you just don't eat it.

I've eaten rice that was stored for ten years without mylar or absorbers, it turns a little darker and and is mushy if you cook it too long but otherwise fine

Food poisoning is more an issue with meat, fruit and canned milk. Super high acid foods like tomato paste have a tendency to rust cans as well.