I am planning to get/use vacuum storage (eg, Foodsaver).

It appears from the FAQ that some organisms such a botulism grow BETTER in
anaerobic conditions. That leads me to wonder what special issues those of
us preserving food via vacuum packing should be aware of. Clearly, lack of
oxygen is not in and of itself an adequate safeguard against spoilage;
together with good refrigeration or freezing, however, it may improve
quality and extend shelf life.

If anyone has scientific information about this (not just opinions), it
might be a useful thread/FAQ item.

wrote:
> I am planning to get/use vacuum storage (eg, Foodsaver).
>
> It appears from the FAQ that some organisms such a botulism grow BETTER in
> anaerobic conditions. That leads me to wonder what special issues those of
> us preserving food via vacuum packing should be aware of.

Vacuum packaging isn't preserving in the generally accepted sense. The
whole subject is rather larger than a post here.

> Clearly, lack of
> oxygen is not in and of itself an adequate safeguard against spoilage;
> together with good refrigeration or freezing, however, it may improve
> quality and extend shelf life.

Or not. Not everything benefits from vacuuming. Some things do, more don't.

> If anyone has scientific information about this (not just opinions), it
> might be a useful thread/FAQ item.

There's a yahoo group for people who use FoodSaver vacuum equipment.
They have a lot of information in some sizable archives, most of it
pretty good, surrounding the subject.

Pastorio

"Bob (this one)" wrote:

> wrote:
> ...
> > If anyone has scientific information about this (not just opinions), it
> > might be a useful thread/FAQ item.
>
> There's a yahoo group for people who use FoodSaver vacuum equipment.
> They have a lot of information in some sizable archives, most of it
> pretty good, surrounding the subject.
> Pastorio

Jack - This might be a link we should add to our FAQ?
Edrena

I have found a useful link that addresses this issue:

http://www.fcs.uga.edu/pubs/current/FDNS-E-46.html

by

Elizabeth L. Andress, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Extension Food Safety Specialist,
Department of Food and Nutrition

Mel Malinowski


> wrote in message
...
>I am planning to get/use vacuum storage (eg, Foodsaver).
>
> It appears from the FAQ that some organisms such a botulism grow BETTER in
> anaerobic conditions. That leads me to wonder what special issues those of
> us preserving food via vacuum packing should be aware of. Clearly, lack of
> oxygen is not in and of itself an adequate safeguard against spoilage;
> together with good refrigeration or freezing, however, it may improve
> quality and extend shelf life.
>
> If anyone has scientific information about this (not just opinions), it
> might be a useful thread/FAQ item.
>