Holland Houseware

Americans throw out over two thirds of all the food they buy, according to a study surveying over 5000 households. Spoilage is cited as the primary reason that Americans throw food away. This article includes ways that you can reduce the wastage of food at your house, by making better use of your home’s plastic food storage containers to preserve food for longer periods of time.

1. Freezer-proof storage bags: these special plastic food storage containers are sealed against freezer-burn. Freezer-burn is a nasty chemical process that dehydrates your food and makes it develop an “off” taste while stored in sub-zero temperatures. These special bags keep your food the same as the day you bought it - for up to three years!

Secondly, breathable vegetable bags have been introduced to help keep fruits and vegetables fresh. They allow a little bit of air to circulate within the bag, but continue to seal the contents away from large amounts of oxygen that can produce spoilage. Fruits and vegetables kept within these breathable bags can last for up to six weeks, or much longer than the contents of regular plastic food storage containers.

Third, consider using multi-compartment plastic food storage containers to store small quantities of leftovers, soups, fruits, and vegetables. They are remarkably convenient because you can open a single cube of frozen food without having to deal with the rest of the cubes. This makes it much easier to freeze individual servings of soups or fruit.

4. Vacuum food storage has several advantages, from taking up less freezer space to extending the storage time with great quality. Air causes foods to become stale or spoil, and removing it using special bags and a special vacuum machine reduces volume and keeps foods fresh much longer than any other method. Special attachments allow you to remove air from your plastic food storage containers as well. Vacuum storage not only takes less space in the freezer but also protects against the damage of freezer burn.

If you’re like most people, you’re interested in long term food storage techniques. You’re tired to throwing expensive food into the garbage because there’s no way to preserve it. Or you find a great buy at the store but know you don’t have the room to store the extras you’d like to buy. You’ll be glad to know that now there are special food storage containers available that work with your freezer and refrigerator to extend the life of your groceries and help you get more for your food dollar.

A study found over 5,000 American households throw away almost 70% of the food they buy due to spoilage. Plastic food storage containers can help control food waste and save money. Use freezer-proof storage bags to stop freezer-burn which dehydrates food and causes a foul taste. Use breathable vegetable bags which circulate air around fruits and vegetables for long term food storage up to six weeks. Freeze small portions of fruit for smoothies or broth for soups in cubes. Vacuum food storage takes up less freezer space and prevents freezer burn. Save money and freezer space and extend the life of your groceries with special food containers like these.

- Robin Holland-Smith

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 21st, 2007 at 10:10 am and is filed under Kitchen & Table. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.