Vacuum Packaging and Food Safety
The vacuum packaging process extends the life of
foo ds by remo ving mo st of th e air fr om the sea led
container , thereby reducing oxidation, which affects
nut riti ona l v alue , fla vo r and o v era ll qu alit y . Remo ving
air can also inhibit growth of microorganisms, which
can cause problems under cer tain conditions:
Mold – Easily identified by its fuzzy characteristic.
Mol d cann ot gr o w in a lo w ox ygen envi ron men t,
the ref or e v acuu m pac kagi ng ca n slo w the gro wth
of mold.
Y east – Re sul ts in fe rme ntat ion , whic h can be
ide ntif ied by sme ll and tast e. Y e ast needs wate r ,
sugar and a moderate temperature to grow . It can
als o surviv e with or wi tho ut air . Slowi ng th e gro wth
of yeast requires refrigeration, while freezing stops
it completely .
Bact eria – Res ult s in an un plea san t odo r ,
dis colo ra tio n and/ or so ft or sl imy textu re . Unde r
the right conditions, anaerobic bacteria such as
Clostridium botulinum (the organism that causes
Botulism) can grow without air and sometimes
cannot be detected by smell or taste. Although it is
extremely rare, it can be very dangerous.
T o prese rve fo ods safel y , it is crit ical that you
maintain low temperatures. Y ou can significantly
reduce the growth of microorganisms at
tem per atu re s of 40° F (4°C ) or be lo w . Fr eezin g at 0°F
(-1 7°C ) does not ki ll mic ro or gani sms , but stops them
fr om gr ow ing . Fo r lon g-te rm st ora ge, alway s fr eez e
perishable foods that have been vacuum packaged,
and keep refrigerated after thawing.
It is impor tant to note that vacuum packaging is
NO T a su bsti tut e for canni ng and it can not r ev ers e
the dete rio r atio n of fo ods. It can only sl ow down the
changes in quality . It is difficult to predict how long
foo ds wil l re tain thei r top- qua lit y flav or , app ear anc e
or te xtur e becaus e it dep end s on age and co ndit ion
of the food on the day it was vacuumed packaged.
IMP OR T ANT: V acuu m pac kagi ng i s NO T a subs tit ute
for refrigeration or freezing. Any pe ris hab le foo ds
tha t req uir e re fri ger ati on mu st sti ll be refr ige rat ed or
frozen after vacuum packaging.
Food Preparation and Reheating Tips
Thawin g and Reheating V acuum Pac kaged Foods
Alw ays thaw foods in eith er r efri ger ator or
microwave — do not thaw perishable foods at
room temperature.
T o reheat foods in a microwav e in a FoodSaver
®
Bag, always cut corner of the bag before placing
it on a micr ow av e-sa fe di sh. Ho wev er , to avo id ho t
spo ts, do not re hea t bon e-in meat or gre asy foods
in microwave within a FoodSaver
®
Bag. Y ou ca n also
reheat foods in FoodSaver
®
Bags by plac ing them in
water at a low simmer below 170°F (75°C).
Prepar ation Guidelines for Meat and Fish:
F or bes t re sult s, pr e-f re eze meat and fis h for 1– 2
hours before vacuum packaging in a FoodSav er
®
Bag . Th is he lps r eta in the juic e and sh ape , and
guarantees a better seal.
If it ’ s no t poss ibl e to pr e-f ree ze , plac e a fold ed pa per
towel between meat or fish and top of bag, but
bel ow seal ar ea. Le av e pap er to we l in bag to abso rb
ex cess mois tur e and juice s dur ing v acuum pa cka gin g
process.
Note: Beef may appear darker after vacuum
packaging due to the removal of oxygen. This is not
an indication of spoilage.
Prepar ation Guidelines for Hard Cheeses:
T o keep che ese fres h, v acuum pa cka ge it af ter ea ch
use. Make your FoodSaver
®
Bag extra long, allowing
one inch of bag mat eri al for each time y ou pla n to
ope n and r ese al in ad dit ion to the 3-i nch room you
normally leave between contents and seal. Simply
cut seale d edg e and r emo ve che ese. Wh en yo u’ re
ready to repackage the cheese, just drop it in bag
and reseal.
IMP OR T ANT: D ue to the ri sk of anae r ob ic b act eria,
Soft cheeses should never be vacuum packag ed.
Prepar ation Guidelines for V egetable s:
V egetables need to be blanched before vacuum
pac kagi ng. Th is pr oce ss sto ps th e enzy me ac tion
that could lead to loss of flavor , color and texture.
T o blanch veg eta bles , pla ce the m in bo ilin g wat er
or in the microwav e until they are cooked, but still
cri sp . Blan chi ng ti mes r ang e fro m 1 to 2 min ute s for
lea fy gr een s and pe as; 3 to 4 minu tes fo r sna p peas ,
sli ced zu cch ini or bro ccol i; 5 mi nute s for carr ots ; and
7 to 11 minutes for corn on the cob. After blanching,
immerse vegetables in cold water to stop the
cooking process. Finally , dry vegetables on a towel
before vacuum packaging.
Note: All vegetables (including broccoli, brussels
spr out s, ca bba ge, ca uli flo we r , ka le, tu rni ps)
naturally emit gases during storage. Therefore, after
blanching, they must be stored in freezer only .
Guidelines
for Vacuum Packaging
Whe n fre ezi ng v eget abl es, it is bes t to pr e-f ree ze
the m for 1– 2 hour s or un til so lid ly fr oz en. T o freez e
ve get able s in in divi dua l servin gs, first plac e on
a bak ing sh eet and spr ead them out so th ey ar e
not touch ing . Th is pr event s the m fro m fr eezi ng
tog ethe r in a blo ck. Once they ar e fr oze n, r emo ve
fr om bak ing sheet and v acu um pa ckag e ve get able s
in a FoodSaver
®
Bag. After they ha ve been vac uum
packaged, return them to the freezer .
IMP OR T ANT: D ue to the ri sk of anae r ob ic b act eria,
Fresh mushrooms, onions, & garlic should never be
vacuum pack aged.
Prepar ation Guidelines for Leafy V egetable s:
F or bes t re sult s, us e a cani ste r to sto re leafy
vegetables. First wash the vegetables, and then dry
wit h a tow el or sala d spin ner . Aft er the y are drie d,
put them in a canis ter and v acu um pac kag e. S tor e in
refrigerator .
Prepar ation Guidelines for Fruits:
When freezing soft fruits or berries, it is best to
pr e-fr eeze th em for 1–2 ho urs or unti l soli dly froz en.
T o freeze fruit in individual servings, first place on a
baking sheet and spread them out so they are not
tou chin g. Thi s pre ve nts them fr om free zin g toge the r
in a block. Once they are frozen, remo ve from baking
sheet and vacuum package fruit in a FoodSav er
®
Bag.
Aft er the y hav e been v acu um pac kag ed, r etu rn the m
to th e fre eze r .
Y ou can v acu um pac kag e portio ns fo r baki ng, or
in yo ur fa vo rite comb ina tion s for easy fr uit salad
all year roun d. If stori ng in the re fri ger ato r , we
recommend using a FoodSaver
®
Cani ster .
Prepar ation Guidelines for Baked Goods:
T o vacu um pa cka ge sof t or air y bake d good s, w e
recommend using a FoodSav er
®
Cani ster so they
will hold their shape. If using a bag, pre-freeze for
1–2 hours or until solidly frozen. T o save time, make
cookie dough, pie shells, whole pies, or mix dry
ing red ien ts in adv anc e and v acuum pa cka ge for
later use.
Prepar ation Guidelines for C offee and Powdery
Foods:
T o prevent food par ticles from being drawn into
vacuum pump, place a coffee filter or paper towel at
top of bag or canis ter befor e vac uum pa ckag ing . Y ou
can also pl ace the foo d in its orig inal bag in side a
FoodSav er
®
Bag, or use a FoodSaver
®
Univ ersal Li d
with the original container to vacuum package.
Prepar ation Guidelines for Liquids:
Before you vacuum package liquids such as soup
sto ck, pr e-fre ez e in a cas ser ole dish , loaf pan or ic e
cub e tra y unt il sol id. Rem ov e froz en li quid fro m pan
and vacuum package in a FoodSaver
®
Bag. Y ou ca n
sta ck the se “f roz en brick s” in y our free zer . Whe n
you’ re ready to use, just cut corner of bag and place
in a dis h in mi cro wave or dro p int o wate r at a lo w
simmer , below 170°F (75°C).
T o vacu um pa cka ge non -ca rbon ate d bot tled liqu ids,
you can use a FoodSaver
®
Bott le St opp er wit h the
ori gina l con tai ner . Re memb er to leav e at le ast on e
inc h of ro om bet we en con ten ts and bott om of Bo ttl e
Stopper . Y ou can re-seal bottles after each use.
Prepar ation Guidelines for Make-ahe ad Meals,
Lefto vers and Sandwic hes:
Efficiently store your make-ahead meals, leftovers
and sandwiches in the stackable, lightweight
FoodSav er
®
containers. They are microwaveable,
top rack dish wash er sa fe and come with a cu stom
adaptor . The lightweight containers will be ready to
hea d off to the off ice or scho ol wh en yo u are !
Prepar ation Guidelines for Snac k Foods:
Y our snac k foo ds wil l mai ntai n the ir fr esh nes s long er
whe n you va cuum pack age th em. For best resu lts ,
use a FoodSaver
®
Cani ster for cru sha ble items like
crackers.
Vacuum Packaging Non-Food Items
The FoodSaver
®
vacuum packaging system also
pr otec ts no n-f ood it ems from oxi dat ion, corr osi on
and moist ur e. Sim ply follo w the dir ect ion s to v acu um
package items using FoodSav er
®
Bags , Cani ste rs and
Accessories.
T o vacu um pa cka ge sil ve r , wrap fork tines in soft
cushioning material, such as a paper towel, to
avoid puncturing bag. Y our FoodSav er
®
Bags are
ide al for outd oor ex cursio ns. For camp ing and
hiking, keep your matches, maps and food dry and
compact. T o have fresh water for drinking, simply
fill a FoodSaver
®
Bag wit h ice , seal it and when
needed, let the ice pack melt. If you’ re going sailing
or boating, vacuum package your food, film and a dry
change of clothes. Just remember to bring scissors or
a knife to open the bag.
T o keep eme rg enc y kits safe and dry , va cuum
package flares, batteries, flashlights, matches,
can dles and ot her ne ces siti es. Y our emer gency items
will stay dry and organized in your home, car or boat.
GU I DELI N E S
GU I DELI N E S
www .foodsaver .com 1-877-777-8042 www .foodsaver .com 1-877-777-8042
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