Bobby, I vac seal all the time but it goes right into the freezer. If I refridge, I do not bother to seal other than cheeses. Vac sealing had cheese can prolong the life by several months.

Any meat items are frozen right away if not consumed.

I'm on my 3rd FoodSaver (20-years), and no bacteria growth to date. Think of it as a plastic bag (jar or canister) with all the air removed. All the same general food safety "rules" apply - handling, thawing, and temperature controls.

People fail to read the instructions and that's the reason for improper use of vacuum sealers - not the vacuum sealers themselves. How they are intended and designed to be used is VERY food-safe.

1. Vacuum sealing is NOT a substitute for heat-processing canning.

Even though you can store food in a canning jar and vacuum seal jar lids on them using a FoodSaver jar sealer, the food has not been heat processed. I keep all kinds of dry-goods in jars that are either sealed with the standard canning lids, or with the (love 'em) Universal Lids. This includes nuts, grains, legumes, pasta, seeds, all kinds of pantry items, etc.

Things that would get squished in a bag I place in a jar - marshmallows is a good example of when to use a jar. Flour is also supposed to be stored in a jar so that it remains free-flowing.

2. If the food would normally be refrigerated or frozen, then it needs that if it's vacuum sealed. Vacuum sealing doesn't replace or off-set the use of food-safe temperatures. Fresh foods are still perishable and still require appropriate temperature storage even if they are vacuum sealed.

The same precautions you use for foods susceptible to bacterial growth, you still need to treat it the same way.

Benefits:

- food stays fresh 3-5 times longer
- freezer burn is completely eliminated
- moist foods won't dry out
- dry, solid foods (such as brown sugar) won't become hard
- foods that are high in fats and oils won't become rancid

Oxygen is one of the main reasons for food spoilage, and causes foods to deteriorate and become less nutritious in several ways. Using a FoodSaver, the oxygen is removed from the storage environment, whether foods are stored in a jar, bag, or canister.

-Grainlady

OK, so I guess it's safe not to worry about botulism from anaerobic conditions as long as common sense is used. Thanks :o)

I thought these things were supposed to save money... all the bags and food I've purchased playing with this thing, I don't think that's true! Just wait until I start getting accessories.

Bobby, you will save money in the end when you pick up bargains or do not toss out food. And remember, you can wash a used bag for re-use....

Prefreeze the food, wrapped in produce plastic bags. Vac in the plastic, but remove the meat/fish/veggie before defrosting. FS bag stays cleaner that way, your thin produce plastic bag is re-used before trashing(very green this way).

you may want to go over to Harvest and search for Foodsaver. there are some threads that have great tips in them.

Yes, it does save money & time! If I can keep meat in my freezer for months and not having to run to the grocery store every week, you bet that's a saving!

I love mine and not only I vacuum pack food but also fresh tea or whatever I'd like to store for longer period of time.

Yeah, I know it will save money in the long run.... I was kind of joking, but I did use an entire roll of bags just "playing" and experimenting, but it was fun. Took a while to get the hang of cutting the right size bag. I think I've vacuumed everything in my 'fridge now. Except the gallon of milk (but it's next, and that cat had better watch out 'cuz I'm on a roll j/k). I kicked the stand mixer out of its spot and moved it (though still on the counter) to keep the sealer out so I'd use it.

Mine seals great... the only problem I have encountered is when trying to do something with liquid (like marinating a steak in a bag), or re-sealing a bag that has been frozen. It struggles with both, and I end up putting the first bag in a new bag and sealing that one. I also read a tip to pup a paper towel in bags that have wet "stuff" and that will make the machine seal them better without getting the liquid.

I've been getting the Wal-mart bags, two 11 foot rolls for 8.88... about half the price of the name brand ones.

Peppi, I'll have you know that you ruined my day by referring me over to the Harvest forum (OK, not really). LOL I strolled over there to check out the Food Saver posts and found out that I just missed a sale of a 170 dollar Food Saver that was going for 60 bucks with free shipping!

Mine is a Rival Seal-a-Meal (that is made by the same company that makes the Tilia Food Savers, Jarden), that I got at Target for 50 bucks. To think I could have gotten a model with a jar sealer, canister, on board roll cutter and holder, and lots of buttons for moist/wet/dry/instant seal for only 10 dollars more just makes me sick! Hope they run that special again soon... this thing I bought will be back at Target for a refund faster than you can turn your head. I don't like to buy online typically, but for that savings and such a superior machine, I'd do it!

I think the danger zone for botulism multiplying is 40 to 140 deg F. Not a problem in the freezer.

So freezer to microwave would keep that from happening? I am hoping.

I bought some pomegrate juice and goji juice from store it says good for 10days. If i vacuum seal the juice can i just keep it in frig? and how long if so.

I'm puzzled. All comments re vac sealing food say must be refrigerated or frozen. However, I purchase many foods that are vac sealed such as Soups and tuna fish that are not refrigerated and have use by dates that are at least 2 years out. The same goes for vac sealed foods for camping and the military. None of this stuff is frozen or refrigerated but still edible and tasty and I have never been sick. So why all the fear? Can anyone explain this to me? The reason I ask is that I travel over 200 days each year and in an effort to eat well and inexpensivly I take as much food with me or go to supermarkets. I would much rather take homemade soups and dinners in vac sealed bags if I could be assured of their safety.

Those are all completely sanitized in the packages, just like canned food.

dcarch

What dcarch said. I think a good basic rule of thumb would be don't store anything that you've vacuum packaged any differently from how you would normally store it. The foodsaver's instructions clearly warn that it's not a preservation method, it'll just help extend quality a bit.

Grainlady_ks can I store cooked grains (quinoa, rice) in a food saver bag on the fridge? I really appreciate all your info that you shared on this thread

Grainlady doesn't come here anymore. Our loss.

Feel free to post a new thread any time you have a question, even if it relates to something you saw in an old thread. That way you can put the screen name of the person you're asking for in the title, and you'll get more looks, anyway, if it's a new thread.

As to storing cooked food, yes, you can (I don't know of any anaerobic safety issues), but I don't know if it'll do you any good. If there are already mold spores in the food, or bacteria, I think they still grow, albeit slowly. Think about when you open a container or yoghurt or something for the first time and it's off. Cutting the air out of the storage is good, but you might want to save your food saver bags, which are expensive, for something you're going to store for a longer time, and use a regular zipper bag for this. You can also portion it into smaller bags so you're not adding contaminants if you don't use the whole thing at once. Or put most of it in a food saver(s) in the freezer, and just keep the amount you expect to use in the next day or two in the fridge.

Hmmm . I really want to save it to use in about a week. You seem to think that's not a good idea. So you think regular zip lock bags will work. Maybe I should freeze in zip lock

Food saver bags simply suck the air out....keeps things from drying out in the freezer and the refrig....does almost nothing to stop bacteria or general deterioration from enzymes.
I wouldn't keep cooked grain in the refrigerator for a week....but I would freeze it.

The freezer does stop--or technically slow down to a crawl--the bacteria, etc.

Yes, freezing it, even if it's just for a week, is a better idea. If you're going to use it as quickly as one week, a regular ziploc should be fine, or an air tight container if it's full to the top. Much longer and the food saver would be better because the vacuum helps delay water from migrating out of the food and forming crystals. If you can spread it out on a cookie sheet or similar to dry for a few hours that will also help the quality. Cooked grains and seeds (quinoa is technically a seed) do freeze fine though, and it's not worth bothering too much over it.