VACUUM SEALED LIFE EXPECTANCY

VACUUM SEALED LIFE EXPECTANCY

Vacuumed sealed life expectancy. It’s a well known fact that vacuum sealing extends the shelf life of food. The question now remains – how long does it then last for?

Thanks to companies such as Food Vacuum Sealers Australia, we can know keep our food fresh up to five times longer. Common storage methods such as freezing and refrigerating infer common knowledge on how long your food or drink will last. For one thing the packaging usually tells us and for another, we see it happen before our eyes. Failing that, the old sniff test seems to be a fool proof method…

The food vacuum sealer movement is next big boom in storage methods. But as it’s still reasonably new on the market, it’s not yet common knowledge as to the shelf life of vacuum sealed goods. Check out our new vacuum sealed shelf life below.

Vacuum Sealed Life Expectancy: A Closer Look

Meat

The vacuum sealed life expectancy of large cuts of meat such beef, poultry, lamb and pork have a normal shelf life of 6 months when kept in the freezer. Vacuum sealed shelf life? A massive 2 to 3 years. Ground meats from beef, poultry, lamb and pork only last for around 4 months when frozen. Why not times that by three and let it sit for a whole year! Now when you look at those 1kg mince packets and you wonder who would possibly need that much, you have your answer.

Berries

Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries have the short refrigerator life of only 1-3 days. If you’ve also made the mistake of eating them all in one go, you’ll too appreciate how short lived berries aren’t ideal. Why not maximise that shelf life to a full week by vacuum sealing them. Better yet, look into freezing the fruit yourself or purchasing pre frozen. Other berries such as cranberries, huckleberries, blueberries have the slightly extended refrigerator life of 3-6 days. Vacuum sealing makes them last for two weeks.

Beans

I definitely have caffeine to thank for getting me through late night assignments back in my University days. Coffee can see you through the times your eyelids felt they had weights on them. If you can relate to that you’ll know the feeling of stress when coffee beans have gone off or run out. At room temperature, coffee beans can last for 4 weeks. Vacuum sealed they last an amazing 16 months. Better yet, frozen they can last between 2 and 3 years!

Oils

Oils with no preservatives, like safflower, canola, corn oil last between 5 and 6 months at room temperature. Vacuum sealed it lasts between 12 and 18 months. Now you can purchase an array of oils that perfectly match whatever you feel like cooking.

Cheese

Pasteurized, hard and semi soft cheeses last 1 to 2 weeks when stored in a refrigerated environment. Why not multiply that by a whooping 16 times. That’s right. Vacuum sealed cheeses can last 4-8 months in the refrigerator. Bear in mind though, soft cheeses such as brie, camembert, cottage, ricotta and teleme are not able to be vacuum packaged as long.

Ingredients

Common cooking ingredients such as flour, sugar and rice last 6 months in room temperature when uncooked. Sounds pretty good right? Maybe. If you don’t want to take advantage of the 5kg bulk bags. If you’ve ever seen one of those thing you’ll know that the bulk bags take up the entire bottom layer of your trolley – seems impractical to buy them. Not any more! Splitting up cooking ingredients into small portions means they can last for 1-2 years. Talk about being prepared for emergencies!

Lettuce

One thing I personally find myself buying and wasting is lettuce. Sometimes I’ll make epic salads and smash through a bag in two days. Other times it sits browning in the back of my fridge – limp and inedible. In the fridge, it lasts only 1 to 3 days. Vacuum sealed in a food vacuum canister, it last 2 - 4 weeks. Salad night can now be when you want, not when you have to.

Snacks

Snacks such as cookies, chips and crackers go stale at room temperature after a week. So the food vacuum sealed life expectancy is not long. Unless you sit down and eat them all, they are periodically opened meaning they are constantly being spoiled by the oxidation process. Vacuum sealing already opened good means the product lasts between 3 and 6 weeks. A great idea is to vacuum seal one portion at a time – perfect for school lunches or afternoon tea.

Wine

The mysterious already opened bottle of wine sitting in the fridge sparks the age old question “is it still ok to have” more than any other item. Knowing that once wine is opened, it lasts between 3 and 6 days (depending on the type, brand and quality) in the fridge, you really need to start labelling when they’re opened (or face even more peculiar effects of the product!) Better yet, vacuum seal wine and let it sit for 2-4 months refrigerated. Talk about vintage wine.

Got another product in mind? Comment your favorite vacuum sealed item below and we’ll guide you through its shelf life.

• Dr William Lomax - The answer is that they will be ok for 18-24 months either in the fridge or freezer as they are dehydrated. We have some black vacuum sealer roll film that is ideal for this type of storing as it blocks out light as well, called black Mylar vacuum sealer rolls