Food Storage Guidelines

These food storage guidelines will help you know what needs to be used, replaced, rotated, and how often.

USING, REPLACING AND ROTATING FOOD

If you follow good food storage guideines, using and replenishing your food storage should become a commonplace, everyday activity, as normal as preparing meals now is. Although it does require an initial investment to stock a pantry, eventually it becomes the most economical and convenient way to live. Instead of going to the store when you need something and paying full price for it (plus being tempted to impulse-buy), you can go to your storage room or pantry to get what you need. Then you replace it next time it is on sale.

Rotating your food storage is necessary so that the older products are used before newer ones. If you can remember to do it, move the older products forward and put the new products behind it on the shelf.

Or if you can't count on yourself to remember, keep a marker on the shelf and quickly put a date on the cans and packages when you put them away. At a glance, you can see what needs to be used first. One exception might be chocolate chips; they probably don't stay on your shelf long enough to bother marking a date on them.

The best way to rotate your food storage is to prepare meals with it on a daily basis. Of course, that means that you should store what your family will eat. It is wasteful to store products that your family won't eat or that can't be used in your favorite recipes.

Be sure and tell your kids that McDonald's hamburgers and fries do not store well.

SHELF LIFE

No food's shelf life is indefinite, no matter how it is packaged. Freeze-dried food however, can be stored up to 25 years. The shelf life of a food does not mean how long you can keep it on the shelf without having to actually eat it. A better meaning for shelf life in a preparedness context is that you have learned to store your food properly so that it will "give you life" after it has been on your shelf.

HOW OLD IS TOO OLD?

If the food was safe when you bought it, and if it doesn't show any of the following signs of spoilage, then the food should be safe to eat. If any of these signs are present, throw the food out without tasting it!

Checklist for Food Safety

Bulging can or lid.
A milky appearance to the liquid.
Corrosion on the inside of the can, especially along the seam.
Rust, especially along the seam or seal of a can.
Slimy appearance or texture.
Rancid odor, especially in foods which contain any amount of fat.
Mold growth on the food or inside of the container.
Frozen can or bottle.
Off-smell.
Home-bottled food processed improperly? If improper processing times, methods, and/or recipes were used for home-processed vegetables and meats, the jar may be sealed but the product deadly. Do not taste! Throw it out!

FOOD STORAGE CONTAINERS

Bulk purchases of sugar, oats, flour and other foods, especially if brought home in 25, 50, or 100 pound sacks, should be transferred into sturdy, airtight containers that will shut out insects, rodents, and moisture.

There are containers of every size, shape, and material to choose from. What you use will depend on how much of each item you have to store. Only food-grade, airtight, moisture-proof, puncture-proof containers are acceptable for storing food.

This chart will help you calculate the approximate number of containers you'll need if you purchase in bulk.
ITEM	# of 5-Gal. Containers Needed per 50 lbs. Purchased
Rolled oats	2
Wheat, whole grains	1-1/2
Lentils	1-1/2
Beans, peas	1-1/2
Soup mix, dry	1-1/2
Macaroni	1-1/2
Noodles	6
Flour	2
Sugar	2