Tips for Storing Grains for a Long Term

Humans have not been consuming grains right from era when life was started on this earth. But we humans have got highly adaptive digestive systems. People used to rely on meat, fish, vegetables and fruits thousands of centuries ago. And then, grains became the part of diet. People in modern era rely more on grains as compared to other types of foods.

While a daily supply of grains and other foods is something that we all pay attention to, it is very important to make sure that these items exist in your emergency food storage in an adequate amount. When it comes to storing grains, it is very important to take their shelf life into consideration. Brown rice and barley are not the ideal forms of grains because they have a shelf like of only 4 to 6 months. Instead, the types of grains that you can include in your emergency food storage include the following.

• Soft grains: Soft grains include oats, rye, and quinoa. The average shelf life of these grains is 8 years but you can extend this shelf life up to 20 years.
• Hard grains: Hard grains include buckwheat, corn, flax, mullet, kamut, spelt, wheat, and triticale. If these grains are properly stored, they can remain usable for 10 to 12 years. But their shelf life can be extended up to 30 years.

Food storage supplies

Many of the people consider using 40-pound sack of rise to store the gains. However, this is not the right way to store the foods properly. You are going to need following items if you want to store grains for a longer period of time.

• Food grade buckets
• Vacuum sealer or heat sealer
• 5-Gallon food storage bags
• Oxygen absorbers

If you are purchasing bulk emergency foods, you may be able to get them pre-packed in Myler packets which are further protected by food-grade buckets. The major advantage of Myler is that it offers an extra barrier to protect the packet contents from light and moisture. You can also ask from the local restaurants if they could provide you with the free buckets which they are going to discard anyway.

Step-by-step food storage

• First of all, you need to find an area in the home with optimal conditions and temperatures. A cool, dry and dark place with the temperature between 62°F and 68°F is the ideal location where you can store your emergency foods
• Use Myler bag as a liner inside the plastic bucket and fill it with grains.
• Add 2000cc oxygen absorbing bag in the grains, squeeze the excess air out of the bag, and seal it using heat sealer.
• Fit the lid on the bucket and make sure that it is making a proper seal.