If you want to prepare your food storage, you should plant to store at least a 6 month worth of food. The main purpose of getting your bulk food storage is to have long term food storage in case of emergency. It is also important to have 72-hour emergency survival kit but, this article will be focused on preparing long term food storage and obtaining long shelf life for bulk dry food storage.

The first step is to use appropriate food storage containers. When you prepare your long term food storage, you need to place dry foods in hard food containers, which will prevent mice chewing through them. So, something like hard plastic, metal or glass will work. You will also need to provide a good oxygen barrier for maximum shelf life. Just using plastic containers will not keep away air from your food. So, it is important to use additional oxygen barrier and oxygen absorber packers. If you use oxygen barrier, you will be able to increase the shelf life of your dry bulk food up to 20 years.

Using glass food containers has an advantage over the plastic containers, because glass is already an oxygen barrier itself, if it is properly sealed. But the bad thing is that glass can easily break if not handled properly or during a natural disaster like an earthquake.

Here is a list of common dry food you would like to store for emergencies: flour, grains, beans, salt, sugar, powdered milk and eggs, corn, pasta, nuts, dehydrated fruits and vegetables, spices and dried meats. These products are great to have in emergency long term food storage and they have a long shelf life. But keeping these foods in air tight containers will only keep them fresh and safe to eat up to a year or even 6 months. So, it is very important to use Mylar bags as an oxygen barriers and oxygen absorber packets for ensuring the maximum shelf life of dry foods.

Besides the moisture and oxygen control, you should also protect your food from light, temperature and pests. If you already follow the above recommendations, you will be able to eliminate the danger of insects and rodents spoiling the food. Proper food storage containers will not be penetrated by mice and bugs and the oxygen barrier bags protect the food from insects.

If you store your sealed food in dry, dark and cool areas, you will be able to protect it from light and temperature. Never store your long term dry food items above such heat sources like refrigerators, stoves and even microwaves. The optimal condition for storing dry long term foods is an area with an even temperature of 45-50 degrees Fahrenheit and with little or no light.

This planet gets tired of us – it is high time to be prepared. Learn more about food storage – this info can save your life and the lives of other people you care about. Visit this food storage blog for useful info in the food storage niche.