Prudent Food Storage

The wise store up choice food and olive oil, but fools gulp theirs down. - Proverbs 21:20

Section 3 Specific Equipment Questions
A. Storage Containers



A.3 METAL CANS

Metal cans and glass jars being heat resistant, can both be used for heat processed, wet-pack foods and for non-heat treated dry pack canning. Relative to glass jars though, metal cans have several disadvantages for the do-it-yourselfer. They are hard to come by, and they need specialized equipment to seal them that can be difficult to locate. The greatest flaw which makes them unpopular for home canning is they can only be used once. As the commercial canning industry is not interested in reusing the containers, metal cans make great sense for their purposes. The cans are both cheaper (for them) and lighter than glass jars. This adds to the economy of scale that makes canned foods as cheap as they are in the grocery store.


For home canning, glass jars are better because even the smallest of towns will usually have at least one business that carries pressure and boiling water canners along with jars, rings and lids. With metal cans a sealer is also necessary which usually has to be ordered from the manufacturer or a mail-order distributor. A few of which are listed in the Resources section.


Tin cans are not really made of tin. They're actually steel cans with a tin coating on the inside and outside. Some kinds of strongly colored acidic foods will fade from long exposure to tin so an enamel liner called "R-enamel" is used to forestall this. Certain other kinds of food that are high in sulfur or that are close to neutral in pH will also discolor from prolonged contact with tin. For those foods, cans with "C-enamel" are used.


The excellent food preservation book, Putting Food By Chapter 6 (see reference list) has a section on the use of metal cans for wet packed foods as does the Ball Blue Book.


Probably the most common use of metal containers is the #10 cans such as are used by the LDS Family Canneries discussed below. This is not the only way metal containers may be used though. It will probably take a bit of searching, but there are various food grade metal containers available of sufficient volume to make them useful for food storage. They usually have double friction lids similar to paint cans or screw caps like jars that can achieve an air-tight seal. If you can find them with a sufficient volume capacity they can be of real use for storing bulky foods such as grains, legumes and sugar. Smaller cans of a gallon or less would be useful for storing items like dry milks. If properly sealed, metal cans have a far higher barrier resistance to gasses such as oxygen, CO2, and nitrogen than any plastic.


Although they can hardly be considered portable the use of clean metal drums (not garbage or trash cans), either themselves food grade or used with food grade liners, is also a possibility. A fifty five gallon drum of grain will weigh several hundred pounds, but may make for a much easier storage solution than multiple buckets. The advantage of using such a large container is that a great amount of a single product can be kept in a smaller amount of space and fumigating or purging the storage atmosphere would be simpler. The disadvantages are the difficulties of moving it and rotating the stock in the drum. If using oxygen absorbers make sure the drum you want to use is capable of making an air-tight seal, otherwise you should stick with carbon dioxide fumigation.


A.3.1 POOLING RESOURCES: THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS -- THE MORMONS

Although the purchase of a can sealer and metal cans for home use is not generally economically feasible for most people there is one method by which it can be made practical. This is by pooling community resources to purchase the equipment and supplies. It may even not be necessary to form your own community to do this. If you live in the right area your local Latter Day Saints church may have facilities they will allow you to use. They may even have suitable food products to sell you. This is an offshoot of the church's welfare programs and is done in their Family Canneries also known as Home Storage Centers. Rather than using plastic buckets they have gone over to using metal cans and aluminized Mylar bags church-wide for dry-pack canning. By sharing the cost of the equipment and purchasing the cans in bulk quantities, they are able to enjoy the advantages of metal cans and professional equipment over plastic containers while minimizing the disadvantages of cost.


--- Please see VI.D.1 Organizations. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints -- LDS Family Canneries for more information about where LDS Family Canneries may be found and how best to approach using them. ---


Any food products you want to have sealed in cans or pouches will need to fall within the LDS cannery guidelines of suitability for that type of packaging. This is for reasons of spoilage control as many types of foods aren't suitable for simply being sealed into a container without further processing. If you purchase food products from them, they will already be within those guidelines. A brief treatment of these guidelines may be found in VI.D.1 LDS Family Canneries Guidelines.


Once you have your foodstuffs on hand, either supplying your own or by purchasing them from the cannery you're ready to package them. It is here that using some forethought concerning your packaging system can save you much time and aggravation.


IMPORTANT NOTE: Please keep in mind that the individuals responsible for the family canneries are all volunteers with demands on their time from many areas. Be courteous when speaking with them and, if there are facilities for use, flexible in making arrangements to use them. You will, of course, have to pay for the supplies that you use, cans and lids at the least, and any food products you get from them. As a general rule they cannot put your food in storage for you. Be ready to pay for your purchases in advance. They do not take credit cards and probably cannot make change so take a check with you.


The following is a list of suggestions to make the most efficient use of your access time:


  1. Make your appointment well in advance. If you are a non-LDS member be sure to ascertain whether you are allowed to use the facilities. Possibly you may be able to go with a church member if you cannot go for yourself alone. Many people may be trying to make use of the canneries so making advanced reservations is a must.

  2. Have enough people to set up an assembly line type operation. Make sure each of your people knows what they need to do and how to do it. At least four people for any serious amount of food is a good number. Ask the cannery volunteer to go over the process with you and your crew.

  3. Make sure you have enough muscular helpers to do the heavy lifting so you don't wear yourself out or hurt your back. Some of the supplies you will be working with, such as wheat, come in fifty pound bags and a box of #10 cans or pouches full of sugar or other weighty food is heavy.

  4. Make labels in advance for any foods you bring with you to pack that the cannery does not carry. This will save time and possibly much confusion after the cans or pouches are filled. Once sealed one anonymous looking can or pouch looks like another.

  5. Take out only as many as oxygen absorbers as you will use in fifteen minutes. They use most of their adsorptive capacity within two to three hours depending on temperature and humidity so you don't want to waste any by soaking up the oxygen in the room. The ones you don't use right away should be tightly sealed in a gas proof container.

  6. Save powdery food items such as dry milk powder, pudding mixes, grain flours and meals till last. They can be messy to can and this will keep them out of your other foods. Dust masks may not be a bad idea.

  7. Leave time to clean up after yourself. The cannery is doing you the courtesy of allowing you to use their equipment and selling you the supplies at cost. You should return the favor by leaving the place at least as clean as you found it. If they give you a set amount of time to work in then finished or not honor that time slot. Others may be waiting to use the equipment too.

  8. Always keep in the back of your mind how much volume and weight your vehicle can haul. You'd hate to find you had canned more than you could carry home.

A.3.2 PREVENTING EXTERIOR CORROSION OF CANNED GOODS

Some areas have difficulty storing metal canned goods for long periods of time. This is usually caused by high humidity or exposure to salt in a marine environment. If this is a problem, it is possible to extend the life of metal cans by coating their outsides. I've seen this used on boats here in Florida, especially when loading for a long trip. There are at least five methods that can be used to do this, but for cans that require a can opener only the paraffin or mineral oil methods should be used.


PARAFFIN METHOD: Using a double boiler, paraffin is melted and brushed on the clean, unrusted cans. Be certain to get a good coat on all seams, particularly the joints. If the can is small enough, it can be dipped directly into the wax. Care must be taken to not cause the labels to separate from the cans. Do not leave in long enough for the can contents to warm.


MINERAL OIL METHOD: Use only food grade or drug store (medicinal) mineral oil. Wipe down the outside of each can with only enough oil to leave a barely visible sheen. Paper labels will have to be removed to wipe underneath with the contents written on the outside beforehand with a marker or leave the under label areas uncoated. Even with a barely visible sheen of oil the cans will tend to attract dust so you will need to wipe off the can tops before opening.


PASTE WAX METHOD: Combine 2-3 oz. of paste or jelly wax with a quart of mineral spirits. Warm the mixture CAREFULLY in its container by immersing it in a larger container of hot water. DO NOT HEAT OVER AN OPEN FLAME! Stir the wax/spirits thoroughly until it is well mixed and dissolved. Paint the cans with a brush in the same manner as above. Place the cans on a wire rack until dry.


SPRAY SILICONE: A light coating of ordinary spray silicone may be used to deter rust. Spray lightly, allow to dry, wipe gently with a clean cloth to remove excess silicone.


CLEAR COATING: A clear type of spray or brush on coating such as Rustoleum may be applied. This is best suited for larger resealable cans, but will keep them protected from corrosion for years.




Updated: 9/18/96; 4/16/97; 7/21/97; 10/20/97; 9/15/98; 11/02/99; 12/01/03


Copyright © 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003. Alan T. Hagan. All rights reserved.


Table of Contents


Acknowledgements & Foreword


Section 1 - Shelf Lives


  1. Time, Temperature, Moisture, Oxygen and Light

Section 2 - Foods


  1. Common Storage Foods

A. Grains & legumes


  1. Grains & Grain Products
  2. Legumes
  3. Availability of Grains and Legumes
  4. Storing Grains and Legumes

B. Dairy Products


  1. Dry Milks
  2. Canned Fluid Milks and Creams
  3. Butter
  4. Cheese

C. Eggs


  1. Dry Eggs

D. Sugar, Honey and Other Sweeteners


  1. Granulated Sugars
  2. Honey
  3. Cane Syrups
  4. Corn Syrup
  5. Maple Syrup

E. Fats and Oils


  1. Buying & Storing Oils and Fats
  2. Extending Shelf Life By Adding Anti-Oxidants

F. Cooking Adjuncts


  1. Baking Powder
  2. Baking Soda
  3. Herbs & Spices
  4. Salt
  5. Vinegar
  6. Yeast

G. Infant Formula


  1. Alternatives to Breastfeeding
  2. Selecting and Feeding An Infant Formula
  3. Storing Infant Formulas and Baby Foods

H. MREs - Meals, Ready to Eat


  1. U.S. Military MREs
  2. U.S. Civilian MREs
  3. British/Canadian MREs
  4. Other Self-Heating Ready To Eat Type Products

I. Ration Bars


  1. Ration Bars

Section 3 - Specific Equipment Questions


A. Storage Containers


  1. What is Food Grade Packaging?
  2. Plastic Packaging
  3. Metal Cans
  4. Glass Jars
  5. Mylar Bags
  6. Reusing or Recycling Packaging

B. CO2 and Nitrogen


  1. Dry Ice
  2. Compressed Nitrogen

C. Vacuum Sealing


  1. Vacuum Sealing Considerations

D. Freeze Treating


  1. Freeze Treating

E. Oxygen Absorbers


  1. What Is an Oxygen Absorber?
  2. How Are Oxygen Absorbers Used?

F. Moisture in Packaging and Food Storage


  1. Why Moisture is Important
  2. What Is A Desiccant?
  3. Types of Desiccants
  4. How Do I Use Desiccants?
  5. Where Do I Find Desiccants?

G. Diatomaceous Earth


  1. What is Diatomaceous Earth?
  2. Where Do I Find DE and What Type Should I Buy?
  3. How Do I Use DE in Food Storage?

Section 4 - Spoilage


A. Insect Infestations


  1. Pests of Stored Grains, Legumes and Dry Foodstuffs
  2. Control of Insect Infestations

B. Molds in Foods


  1. Minimizing Molds
  2. Molds in Canned Goods
  3. Molds in Grains and Legumes

C. Bacterial Spoilage


  1. Botulism

D. Enzymatic Action in Food Spoilage


  1. Enzymatic Action

Section 5 - Shelf Lives


A. Food Product Dates


  1. "Best Used By", "Use By" and Other Food Product Dates

B. Closed Dating


  1. Closed Dating Codes Used by Some Food Manufacturers

C. Shelf Lives


  1. Shelf Lives of Some Common Storage Foods

Section 6 - Resources


A. Books


  1. Books

B. Pamphlets


  1. Pamphlets

C. Electronic-online


  1. Information sources
  2. Software sources

D. Organizations


  1. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints - LDS Family Cannery Guidelines

E. Food and Equipment Suppliers


  1. Mail Ordering Storage Foods What You Should Know
  2. Addresses of Suppliers

Excluding contributions attributed to specific individuals or organizations all material in this work is copyrighted to Alan T. Hagan with all rights reserved. This work may be copied and distributed for free as long as the entire text, mine and the contributor's names and this copyright notice remain intact, unless my prior express permission has been obtained. This FAQ may not be distributed for financial gain, included in commercial collections or compilations, or included as a part of the content of any web site without prior, express permission from the author.


DISCLAIMER: Safe and effective food storage requires attention to detail, proper equipment and ingredients. The author makes no warranties and assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in this text, or damages resulting from the use or misuse of information contained herein. This FAQ is not intended for, nor should it be used in, any commercial food applications.


Placement of or access to this work on this or any other site does not necessarily mean the author espouses or adopts any political, philosophical or metaphysical concepts that may also be expressed wherever this work appears.



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