Putting food in Mylar bags with oxygen absorbers (OAs) is the best long-term storage method for dry staples.
Once sealed, the Mylar bag won’t let any air in. The oxygen absorber removes oxygen from the packaging, protecting food from oxidation. Some foods, like white rice, can even last 25+ years when stored like this.
At first glance, vacuum sealing food might seem similar to the Mylar + OA method.
After all, vacuum sealing also removes air from the packaging. However, there are big differences between Mylar bags and vacuum sealing regarding food storage.
New to Long-Term Food Storage? Read: How to Store Food in Mylar and How to Use Oxygen Absorbers
The Quick Answer:
Use Mylar bags with oxygen absorbers when storing dry foods long-term (2+ years). Use vacuum sealing for shorter-term storage of foods that you will rotate through. Vacuum sealing is also better for freezer storage or storing moist foods.
Why Mylar is Better than Vacuum Sealing for Food Storage
All of the top emergency food brands package their foods in Mylar bags with oxygen absorbers. This includes brands like Wise, Mountain House, etc. The fact that none of these brands use vacuum sealing should tell you something.
Ultimately, it comes down to these three properties, which make Mylar better for food storage than vacuum sealer bags.
1. Mylar Is a Better Oxygen Barrier
Mylar is a very durable polyester film. It is metalized through vapor deposition, where aluminum is sprayed on its surface. The result is a bag that is almost perfectly impervious to oxygen. Once sealed, no air or moisture will get through the Mylar bag.
By contrast, vacuum sealer bags like Food Saver bags are made from a polymer. The material does a good job of keeping air from passing through it, but it isn’t 100%. Over time, the vacuum sealer bags will allow air to pass through.
There is a lot of research from the food industry on vacuum packaging, which proves this:
- This study found that vacuum sealing preserved dry rice better over 18 months than methods like cold storage and polythene bags – but the quality of the vacuum-sealed rice still degraded each month in storage.
- This study found that, after 12 months, the nutrients in vacuum-packaged dry black rice degraded.
2. Blocks Light
Another benefit of Mylar over vacuum sealer bags is that it is opaque and won’t allow light through. Since UV light destroys many nutrients, Mylar helps food last longer in this way. Read more about how to preserve food for years.
3. Harder for Insects to Chew Through
I’ve had Indianmeal moths infiltrate my pantry and can testify to how annoying they are. The moth larvae easily chewed through my vacuum sealer bags. A Mylar bag I had there remained untouched despite containing whole grains (which moths love).
Of course, Mylar isn’t completely impervious to pests. Rodents can chew through it. This is why you want to keep your Mylar bags of food in a bucket. But Mylar is still definitely tougher than vacuum sealer bags! Read more about how to rodent-proof food storage.
Vacuum Sealing Does Not Remove Air from Inside Food
This is an important difference between Mylar and vacuum sealing that isn’t mentioned much. When you seal oxygen absorbers inside a Mylar bag, the OA removes air from INSIDE the food. By contrast, vacuum sealing only removes air from AROUND the food.
Foods like beans and whole grains have a surprising amount of air inside them. Even if vacuum sealer bags didn’t have leak issues, you’d still have all that air inside the food, causing it to degrade and eventually spoil.
When Vacuum Sealing Makes Sense for Food Storage
Mylar bags + oxygen absorbers are usually the best methods for long-term food storage. However, there are some times when vacuum sealing is the better choice.
Storing Moist Items
Foods with 10% or more moisture should never be stored in Mylar with oxygen absorbers. This is because the botulism bacteria can grow in oxygen-less environments. It then produces toxins that can kill you.
Some “dry” foods contain a lot of moisture. For example, store-bought raisins sometimes have moisture levels of over 10% and should not be stored in Mylar with OAs. Cornmeal can also be surprisingly moist. Vacuum sealing is a much safer storage method for these foods.
Read:
Freezer Storage
Foods with lots of oil or fat will go rancid quickly even if stored in Mylar with OAs. Roasted coffee is just one example. For this reason, many people prefer to store coffee in their freezer.
Vacuum sealing is better for freezer storage than Mylar. The vacuum sealer bags will prevent freezer burn. The bag’s transparency works in your favor because you can see the product to check quality.
You could theoretically put foods in Mylar and then in the freezer.
However, I don’t like this idea: when you take the foods out of the freezer (or your freezer dies during a power outage), you could end up with moisture pockets inside the Mylar bag.
These moisture pockets might be wet enough to allow botulism to grow. (Yes. I’m very paranoid about botulism!) Better to just store the items in vacuum sealer bags.
Vacuum Sealing Canning Jars
Vacuum sealer bags will eventually allow oxygen to leak through. By contrast, vacuum sealer jars won’t leak oxygen. The lids are also usually very durable and create a strong seal.
I have yet to see research about whether oxygen will leak into vacuum sealed mason jars. And I’m not a fan of glass for food storage because it breaks easily (earthquakes, hurricanes…). However, storing smaller amounts of food in jars may be a good option.
Certain Foods
Some foods are fine to store in vacuum sealer bags, even long-term. This includes foods that will last a long time, even without special packaging. Pasta is a good example.
Unless it is fortified, pasta has very few vitamins or other nutrients which will degrade from oxidation. I’ve encountered pasta in a friend’s pantry that was 3 years expired, and it still tasted perfectly fine (yes, I ate it).
Sugar and salt are other foods that are fine to package in vacuum sealer bags long-term. In fact, you don’t want to put these foods in Mylar with oxygen absorbers because they will turn rock-hard!
Can I Put Oxygen Absorbers in Vacuum Sealer Bags?
Yes, but using oxygen absorbers in vacuum sealer bags will not have much or any benefit long-term. Oxygen absorbers only make sense in completely air-tight packaging like Mylar bags. Vacuum sealer bags will eventually leak air through, thus removing any benefit from the OAs.
Can I Put a Vacuum Sealed Bag Inside a Mylar bag?
I have heard of preppers doing this:
- Put an oxygen absorber inside a vacuum sealer bag with food
- Vacuum sealing the bag
- Putting the vacuum sealed bag in Mylar
- Sealing the Mylar
However, this method is overkill and unnecessary. The only benefit is that the extra layer of bags will protect against puncture. But, for that, you could just keep your Mylar bags in a bucket.
Note that you should NOT put a vacuum sealed bag in a Mylar bag with an oxygen absorber (the OA between the vacuum sealer bag and Mylar). While vacuum sealer bags do leak, they don’t leak much right away. So, the vacuum sealer bag could prevent the OA from doing its job. Oxygen will remain in the vacuum sealer bag and cause the food to spoil.
Can You Use a Vacuum Sealer to Seal Mylar Bags?
Some vacuum sealers do get hot enough to seal Mylar bags. However, vacuum sealers generally don’t do a good job sealing thicker Mylar bags. Using an iron or hair iron to seal the Mylar bags is more reliable.
Can You Use Mylar Bags with a Vacuum Sealer?
No, you usually cannot use a vacuum sealer on Mylar. The issue is that Mylar bags are smooth so the vacuum sealer can’t suck air from the bags.
There are some workarounds to this problem, though. For example, you can use an iron to seal almost all of the Mylar bag and then stick a vacuum hose attachment into the bag to suck the air out. Once the air is sucked out, you quickly finish sealing the bag. This video shows you how to do it.
Another hack is to cut strips from vacuum seal bags and put those strips between the layers of Mylar. After you have done vacuum sealing, you must reinforce the seal with an iron.
But vacuum sealing Mylar is not recommended!
Vacuum sealers do not remove all oxygen from packaging. So, even though Mylar bags are better than vacuum sealer bags, the food inside the vacuumed bags will still slowly start to go bad. Using oxygen absorbers in your Mylar bags is easier and more reliable than vacuum sealing. For short-term food storage, stick to vacuum sealer bags.
Oxygen Absorber + Vacuuming Mylar Bags?
Some preppers like to put an oxygen absorber in the Mylar bag and vacuum it. While this theoretically reduces the amount of OAs you need to use, it is overkill. Just push out as much air as you can from the bags before sealing them and you will be fine.
The only benefit to vacuuming Mylar bags that already have OAs is this: because vacuuming makes the Mylar bag look “sucked down,” you will be able to tell if the seal has broken. I still don’t recommend it because it’s an extra step, and the wrinkles caused by vacuum sealing can make it hard to get a good seal on the Mylar.
Note: Mylar Also Comes in Small Sizes!
One of the main reasons that people want to use vacuum sealing instead of Mylar is size. Mylar bags are often very large, whereas you can find tiny vacuum sealer bags. The small size is much more convenient for storing foods you don’t use much, such as spices.
But Mylar bags also come in small sizes and are easy to find. You can even cut Mylar bags to size. Just seal the sides and bottom, and you have whatever size you want.
What foods do you store in vacuum sealer bags, and which in Mylar? Let us know in the comments section below!
I want to store some cookies that have very low fat content and no cream fillings, etc. (more like cookie wafers). Should I put a small hole in the sleeves they come in and then put them in mylar bags, with oxygen absorbers and seal the mylar bag and then place the bags in a plastic tote or pail? I am open to suggestions. Thanks.
So long as the cookies are very dry, that method would work very well. If the cookies are moist, then it’s safer to use vacuum sealing.
Is it safe to vacuum seal chocolate in mason jars using a FoodSaver? I’m worried about Botulism which I believe grows in a low air environment.
Thanks!
Botulism requires 35% moisture content and virtually no oxygen to grow. Vacuum sealing doesn’t remove all oxygen (it just removes some air around the food). And chocolate is very dry. So you don’t have to worry about botulism. 🙂
When you put oxygen absorbers inside a Mylar bag and seal it, the OA removes air from INSIDE the food. By contrast, vacuum sealing only removes air from AROUND the food.
OA do not absorb air, they absorb the oxygen in the air. Air has 21% oxygen so the OAs only remove 1/5th of the air inside a bag.
Hi,
I’m looking to store Malted Barley, (grain for beer), in Mylar bags with O2 absorbers. I have read that pearled Barley should not be stored with O2 absorbers but can find nothing about malted Barley.
I know the malted Barley is kiln dried and some are roasted, but I cant find anything on moisture, (I don’t think it has much), or oil content.
Some web pages say whole grain is not suitable for long term storage some say it is OK .
Any one have information if it is OK to store this long term with Oxygen absorbers?
Malted barley can apparently have moisture content of up to 14.5%. If you buy it somewhere humid, it might even be higher. So, NO, it’s not a good idea to store it with O2 absorbers. Just store it in Mylar bags without the O2 absorbers. It will still last a really long time.
Most whole grains are perfectly fine to store long-term. The issue is that they contain a lot of natural oils. Even when stored “perfectly,” these oils will eventually start to go rancid. That’s why white rice lasts longer than whole grain rice. Rancid foods are still safe to eat, they just taste gross.
Many spices don’t store well.
Many will last only a year even in Mylar or glass jars with oxygen absorbers.
I don’t recall off hand which are better or worse.
I grow a lot of herbs and spices and as a precaution, I store seeds of many varieties of these as well as many vegetable crops like broccoli and cabbage to name just two.
I vacuum sealed them with an oxygen absorber, in small pint size mylar bags, stored in another large vacuum packed Mylar bag with additional oxygen absorbers.
Always label them before moving to the next plant seeds…
If you don’t, you’ll have a mystery garden instead of knowing what you have.
What I’ve read several times is, seeds will remain viable for many years in an oxygen, moisture, and light free space.
So in addition to foods I store, I’m storing seeds.
I haven’t personally tried using them yet, but I’ve read they are good for twenty years or more in some cases.
I’ll use them and replace with new in five years anyway, to be safe.
Seeds may also prove useful for bartering if the need arises, so having a good variety, including a fee for plants you may not think you’ll personally want is a good idea.
They don’t take up that much space.
Here’s my thoughts…such as they are.
There’s no such thing as overkill when it comes to storing food safely for emergency use.
Never use that word again.
Ever.
Use “excessively prudent”.
A tendency I’ve seen is people packaging large amounts in one container.
A 5 gallon bucket of beans is a lot of means to have to eat.
If you open a large Mylar bag or 5 gallon bucket of spaghetti noodles, you have to eat all that before it goes bad, and who wants the same thing meal after meal?
Not me.
So here’s what I do.
I’m taking items and separating into smaller amounts that might make one or two meals.
You can do this for two people or ten.
You just put the correct amount of servings for your needs in a vacuum bag, make sure to throw in an oxygen absorber, (or two for excessive prudence), vacuum and seal.
I write on the bag with a Sharpie, exactly what it is, even though I can see it’s red kidney beans or elbow macaroni.
I write the item description, weight or volume, and the date it was packed.
Once I have my individual meal bags complete, I now place them in a large ziplock style Mylar bag for long term.
These all get stored in large heavy duty plastic tote bins in a couple of closets.
Make sure to label this larger bag with the contents and packing date as well.
I put a couple oxygen absorbers in the outer Mylar bag for good measure, then vacuum the Mylar bag using the “straw” method with a flat iron and my Foodsaver vacuum tube accessory.
No, it will not create the same level of vacuum as the embossed vacuum bags.
But I’ve been doing a good bit of this, and by manually twisting the bag around a little during the vacuum stage, it will do a pretty good job.
Since I’m using ziplock style, and the ziplock seal is already “zipped” right up to the straw, as I slowly remove the straw, it maintains the vacuum, and once withdrawn past the ziplock I simply push that small section closed, and immediately seal the tiny unsealed section of bag with my flat iron.
For me, with the excessive prudence of vacuuming the Mylar with oxygen absorbers, coupled with the oxygen absorbers already vacuum packed in each meal bag, I feel more comfortable about the long term storage.
Now on to an idea I came up with that also works very well.
Pastas don’t hold up well when vacuum packed.
They break apart.
Especially lasagne noodles.
Anyone who has tried vacuum packing them knows full well the gut drop feeling the first time you did it, and that horrible snapping sound reached your ears.
You vacuum that and they instantly start snapping. I even had lasagne noodles breaking ten minutes after vacuum packing. Yes they are edible and in a survival situation that’s the most crucial element.
But get real….
If I’m watching a glorious nuclear sunset, I don’t want to be eating broken pastas while doing so.
So I bought relatively cheap rectangular and round plastic containers with lids off Amazon that perfectly fit a box of lasagne noodles or spaghetti, and other noodles.
Yes, it’s an added expense, so not everyone will do this, but it’s a one time expense, that can be spread over time. And since those containers seal, any unused portions can be kept in that container for later.
Those extra containers may also prove to be useful later for bartering purposes.
I put the lid on with a small folded piece of paper towel over the edge of the container.
This just helps prevent a seal on that container, making it easier for the vacuum sealer to do it’s job, and remove all of the air possible from the vacuum bag, while still giving better protection to my precious noodles.
Just make sure that when you put the noodles in the container, you add an oxygen absorber or two in the container of pasta, and label them all.
Now place those individual meal bags inside a larger Mylar bag, with an oxygen absorber or two, and seal them.
I get two or three of these in a 2 gallon Mylar bag.
Adding these oxygen absorbers into the Mylar bag may seem like excessive prudence, but what if you forget to put them in the individual meal?
Now your excessive prudence may save those meals.
Hope this is useful for someone.
Hi Diane,
I am new to using vacuum sealing and mylar bags. I recently vacuum sealed instant potato flakes with a o2 absorber. Do you think I will have any problems with botulism. If I have problems with air leaking can I just repackage them. Also I bought dehydrated vegetables and was told that the we’re under 7% moisture but some still bend. Should this be an issue for botulism.
I don’t think you’d have botulism issues with the instant potatoes, but I don’t know what conditions they were packed under. As for the veggies, if you are concerned, then just dry them out a bit in the oven (or dehydrator) before packaging them with OAs. *Make sure they cool down completely and sit a bit before packing.
I’d like to know whether it is fine to vacuum seal foods that are already in their packaging – ie supermarket dried apricots and fruits, pasta, flour etc, dried milk – can I keep them all in their store bought package and will this keep their shelf life longer that vacuum sealed alone?
Yes, you can vacuum seal foods which are still in their packaging. You’d want to make a tiny hole in the packaging first though — otherwise the vacuum sealer won’t be able to suck air out from inside the packaging. You really want to get rid of as much air as possible!
Theoretically, vacuuming sealing in their packaging would help the foods last a bit longer because you’ve got two layers of plastic protecting the food against moisture and air leakage. But I don’t it would make too much of a difference.
This was asked earlier but I believe it was only a partial response. Can you reply: I have OAs inside my vacuum packed Food saver bags. I also put OAs In the Mylar bag and sealed. So, OAs in both places. If and when the food saver bag eventually leaks, will the oxygen absorber in the Mylar bag offset the leak and food is still safe?
I’m confused: You put the vacuum sealer bag INSIDE a Mylar bag? There is no reason to do that. It won’t improve shelf life . It’s enough to just put food in the Mylar bag, put OAs inside and seal it up. Put it in a bucket to keep the bags safe from puncture. Save the food saver bags for shorter-term storage or freezer storage.
I’ve ordered a 25kg sack of wheat berries, is it ok to store this loose in an airtight food grade bucket, do I need to put any OA sachets in or must they be stored in Mylar or vacuum bags in the airtight bucket ?
I’m a little confused and don’t want to starve.
Store them the same way you’d store rice: Mylar bags + Oxygen Absorbers. Put this in a bucket with a lid to protect against rodents and physical damage. You can read more here: https://www.primalsurvivor.net/mylar-bags-food-storage/
Hi Diane,
I vacuum sealed small packs of dried fruit about 3 months ago, and today I noticed some of the packs are no longer vacuum tight. I did use oxygen absorbers – I was not aware of the risk of botulism you mention! I’m wondering about the time frame in this environment necessary to create a problem like botulism.. Do I need to waste $100 worth of organic dried fruit because of the mistake using the oxygen absorbers 3 months ago?
Thanks,
Angie
Yes, that’s an example of vacuum bags failing. It’s quite common. As for botulism, you don’t have to throw away the food. But I would play it safe and treat the food to kill any potential botulism spores.
The botulism SPORES are really hard to kill because theyt survive even at high temperatures. But the TOXIN (produced by the bacteria) which makes you sick is actually pretty easy to destroy. You’ve got to get the food to an internal temperature of at least 85°C for at least 5 minutes.
See this page for info on destroying botulism: https://ucanr.edu/sites/MFPOC/Emergency/Botulism/
Like many of us, I am new to this. I have a vacuum bagger made by Food Saver. Two years after vacuum sealing brown rice, that rice is rancid. So after reading this post, I’m ready to switch to Mylar.
However, I don’t own an iron like the one described in this post. All I have is the old vacuum bagger. It will create a heat seal, even with the vacuum function turned off. So why not use it on Mylar bags, with OA inside?
Please, someone, tell me if I am being stupid. Thanks in advance.
The problem with most vacuum sealers is that they don’t get hot enough to create a good seal on Mylar bags. You could try it, but I doubt it would work. A regular iron at the hottest setting should work better. You can probably borrow one if you don’t have one.
I’m sure you have figured it out by now but some vacuum sealers do not get hot enough for Mylar.
Hello,
Brown rice oxidizes because it is a whole grain and still contains oil. Because of that it has a shelf life of about 6 months. Stored in the refrigerator it should last a little longer. Mylar bags will not help. It will still go rancid, even in Mylar, because of the oil.
I think the longevity of vac sealed bags might be contingent on your location. I’m in Colorado and very little relative humidity so dry goods ie; rice lasts much longer. (I could keep rice in a box for 2 years and it would still be good although maybe a bit stale)
If you are in a more humid location like Florida I would suggest mylar.
I am also new to this and think I have watched to many videos. I want to vacuum seal dry pasta, some beans, sugar and flour. I just ordered my sealer along with bags online..but not Mylar bags. I’m really only interested is saving for a couple of years, not longer. I thought I could put a Desiccant Silica packet in each small bag, but I’m getting confused about the Oxygen packets. Can I just use the DS packets. Thanks!
Thanks for all the information, it helped a lot!
But I’m not sure I understand this, hahahhaaa (I’m very new to this):
“Note that you should NOT put a vacuum sealed bag in a Mylar bag with an oxygen absorber (the OA between the vacuum sealer bag and Mylar). While vacuum sealer bags do leak, they don’t leak much right away. So, the vacuum sealer bag could prevent the OA from doing its job. Oxygen will remain in the vacuum sealer bag and cause the food to spoil.”
If I put oxygen absorbers in the vacuum seal bag and then put several vacuum seal bags in a mylar bag with extra oxygen absorbers, how would it ruin the food?
The Mylar bag is an extra protection against light and ensures that no oxygen enters the vacuum bags.
Please tell me so that I do not create a lot of food that can not be eaten 🙁
@Mattias, I pondered the same and reread. I was thinking of lining buckets with mylar, putting some vac sealed bags of spices or perhaps other ingredients needed for a recipe in the bucket, pouring the beans over the plastic vac bags, adding O2 absorbers, and then sealing the mylar around them.
I think they are saying my vac sealed plastic does not perform perfectly at removing oxygen. Even though we have put an oxygen absorber in with the beans before sealing the mylar, there will still be some (2%) oxygen in the vac sealed bags of spices and other ingredients. That oxygen will either ruin the inner ingredients; or it occurs to me, that oxygen will seep out of the plastic bags — even if they’ve been vac sealed — and also ruin the beans in the outer section. All inside the mylar. Over time.
You, however, are talking of putting O2 absorbers inside the inner vac sealed bag, as well as outside it.
I am thinking of making sure the inner bags holding other ingredients have holes so the absorbers put in at the end can do their job on both inner ingredients and beans inside the mylar. Or maybe paper bags would provide the separation I want for ingredients.
Yes, I know this is confusing. I need to draw a picture or something 😀
OKAY: OA in vacuum sealed bag. Then vacuum-sealed bag in Mylar.
NOT OKAY: Vacuum seal bag. Then put vacuum-sealed bag in Mylar with OAs.
It won’t ruin the food. It will just stop the OA from doing its job because the OA might not be able to get to the oxygen inside the vacuum-sealed bag.
What about nitrogen or Co2 flush before sealing ?
Nitrogen flushing is a great way to remove oxygen from Mylar bags before sealing. But I never recommend it because the machines are so expensive. IMO, it only makes sense if you are big food manufacturing company. For most people, it’s simpler and cheaper to just use OAs.
Mylar rolls are now available for the Food Saver. I have used those for rice and beans. Should I insert an OA in them?
That’s awesome – I will need to look into that. Yes, you should probably put OAs into the bags before sealing.
I used the textured Mylar rolls in my food saver and put oa’s in, vacuumed and sealed. I know several disapprove and claim the oa’s won’t work without some space in the bag…….guess I’ll find out if I ever need the food.
The o2 absorber would still be doing it’s job by absorbing any moisture that still remains in the food itself. You are just giving the absorber a head start.
So, do I just need to return my new Food Saver or what? I was planning to vacuum store with OA included in the bags. Apparertnly I need to be using mostly milar. I am so confused!
If your goal is long-term storage, then vacuum sealing isn’t ideal. You can still use it for food storage, but make sure to rotate the foods every 6 months to 2 years. If you use Mylar + oxygen absorbers, you don’t have to rotate most foods for 5+ years. It’s less effort in the long run and a proven system.