Vacuum packaging is a new and revolutionary way in order to get rid of the air that’s in a container. It changes the atmosphere. When you remove or reduce the oxygen, it boosts the shelf life by many times longer especially when items aren’t vacuum sealed.
It’s a way to keep things preserved without needing chemicals.
However, can you do this with every single bag? The short answer is not really. Most bags aren’t going to be able to work, so you need to make sure that you get the right bags before you do this.
Why won’t every single bag work? Well, it’s because of the rate of transmission of oxygen. It’s basically how the air comes out of the bag after the sealing process.
There are bags that have higher rates of oxygen transmission, which means they’re too porous, and air escapes this. polypropylene and polyethylene also is another one that has a high rate. That means that the air that’s removed will not be able to hold a vacuum, and that vacuum is lost once it’s closed up.
You need specific types of barrier bags for the job, which is basically a barrier that’s put inside the bag. This also does determine the type of oxygen transmission that happens.
You want something that’s about 10 cc/100 in 2/24 for this to work. This means that only 10 cubic centimeters of air lost in 100 inches of bag are lost in 24 hours.
Now, in contrast, a standard bag that is about 450cc/100in 2/24 is not going to work. It’s much larger, and often, it will impact the type of bag you need.
So what works? Well, here are some options.
A Co Extruded Poly or Nylon Woven Bag
This is a type of bag that’s used for all types of products. These ply woven kinds of bags are great for cheeses, meats, and a lot more, with most common of these being about 3 millimeters in thickness, and they have an OTR of less than five.
They’re perfect as freezer bags, and packaging items for many months. Sometimes, you can put dried fruit in there, and it will last months. The vacuum that’s used for the trail mix bags out there is held at different temps, including room temps. The texture and taste had not changed and was still very fresh.
This is one that’s good, and if you’re worried about the possible oxygen transmission, get a thicker bag to prevent this.
Coextruded Nylon and Poly EVOH Bags
This is another type of bag with EVOH in it, known as ethylene vinyl alcohol, and is mixed directly with the bag resin to create more of a barrier. It does give a grainier look to it than normal co-extruded bags.
This advantage is a lower transmission rate of oxygen. This is something that can be good as well to add extra protection and is great for all products that might get compromised with the use of too much oxygen. Some products won’t spoil either, especially with these higher transmission rates of oxygen. However, some smells and flavors might be altered. This slight change might be good for some people, especially if they want to preserve items as well prior to them being packaged fully.
Getting the right bag matters, so make sure that you spend time finding the right barrier bags and other items to help with vacuum sealing, and you’ll be able to, through the use of this, build the ideal packaging experience that you wish to have too.
