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7 Common Mistakes in Food Storage and How to Avoid it

You’d agree with me that we are faced with rising food cost, short supply of produce, and increase in food wastage.

With all this before us, storing food becomes the best thing to do to prevent food wastage.

Even at that, many of us are still doing it wrong; we are still making some food storage mistakes that can lead to nasty health issues.

In this article, we are going to talk about the 7 common mistakes people make in food storage and how to avoid them.

1. Storing Food You Won’t Eat

7 Common Mistakes in Food Storage and How to Avoid it

The number one mistake people make is storing food they don’t intend to eat within a short time.

If you are not interested in eating chilly, then don’t store it. Ensure that the foods you are going to store are what you will eat when you are hungry.

2. Storing Food in the Wrong Place

7 Common Mistakes in Food Storage and How to Avoid it

Never store your food in a garage. The reason is that the temperature in the garage is too extreme. Don’t store it in a place that often gets wet like a damp cellar or a garden shed.

Never store cereal or pasta in cupboards near or above the stove. The reason is that any moisture that comes out from the kettle as evaporation will be absorbed into your stored food.

So, keeping your food in a cool and dry place that is a bit far from your stove is the key to proper storage. This will make it last for a longer time.

3. Storing Foods in the Wrong Containers

7 Common Mistakes in Food Storage and How to Avoid it

One storage mistake I see most people make is that they don’t store their foods in proper containers.

For example, if you bring home a 50 pounds sack of flour or rice or beans and just throw them down in the pantry, then you are creating room for a lot of problems.

Things like that may attract pantry bugs and may become infected.

Since most grains bought from the store most times have bugs in them, what you need to do is to store your grains properly by taking them to the freezer for a few days.

This practice will remove anything lingering in there. And after a few days of storing it in a refrigerator, you can then store it in jars or any glass storage containers.

4. Not Having Any Storage

7 Common Mistakes in Food Storage and How to Avoid it

The biggest food storage mistake is not having any storage plan.

This is a risky mistake you need to avoid at all cost because you don’t know when you will be caught off guard for whatever reason: it could be a power outage, or anything uncertain.

Aside from preserving your food, storing your food allows you to get prepared for any uncertainty.

And if you want to store your food, you don’t have to leave your hot food on the counter before storing them on the refrigerator.

You can store them right away in your fridge even if they are hot and it will still do the work of preserving it.

5. Keeping Leafy Greens in Plastic Bags

7 Common Mistakes in Food Storage and How to Avoid it

Buying a bunch of lettuce in a plastic bag will make it go all wet and slimy. The reason is that plastic prevents air from circulating around the leaves, causing bacteria and mold to spring up.

This will make the leaf rot quickly and weather rapidly.

The best way to store your leafy green is to wash it or store it in perforated plastic bags.

Then, dry it out with a salad spinner and lay it out with sheets of paper towel. After that, store it in a large bowl in the fridge.

6. Failure to Change Canned Goods

7 Common Mistakes in Food Storage and How to Avoid it

Even though you may have thought that canned goods are non-perishable food items, that doesn’t mean they won’t get spoilt if they aren’t stored in the refrigerator.

One thing you must know is that whenever you buy a portion of canned food that doesn’t have a visible expiring date, ensure you write down the time of purchase on the lid of the can.

Then, ensure you always put older Cans forward, so you can consume them first before making use of newer Cans.

Also, make sure you don’t store Cans that are dented. There are chances that they may have cracks in them which may lead to food spoilage.

When you notice any Can with a dent on it, the best option for you is to ditch them off instead of taking the risk of eating them.

7. Keeping Dry Goods in Plastic Containers

7 Common Mistakes in Food Storage and How to Avoid it

Dry foods are better stored in glass mason jars or any other glassy jars than Rubbermaid containers.

Mice, mustiness, and mealworms can easily chew their way into Rubbermaid containers, making them more vulnerable to pest attacks.

That is why we advise you to always have your pasta, flours, grain and other dried food all stored in a glass jar that you’ve cleaned thoroughly.

Aside dried foods do not use plastic containers to store your foods. If you do, over time, the chemicals from the plastic container (including BPA) may likely leach into your food.

The best option for you is to always go with glass containers.

Apart from the reason we have given before, glass containers also allow you to put the stored food in the microwave and reheat them to prevent you from wasting the food.

Conclusion

So, these are some of the food storage mistakes you should avoid at all times. These tips will help you prevent any health hazards that accompany most mistakes made in storing foods.

You can check out this vacuum sealer reviews to know the best brands that will help preserve your food, save your money and time.

What other food storage mistakes do you know about? And what can be done to avoid them?

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