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Getting Started with Vacuum Packaging
If you are part of the food processing or food service industry, there is a good chance
that you already know the advantages of vacuum packaging. It has been used with
success for many years as a safe and cost effective method for extending shelf life
and maintaining the quality of food products. If vacuum packaging is new to your
home or business, you will soon wonder how you lived without it!
Whether you are a beginner or expert, there are certain basic guidelines that should
always be followed in order to package foods safe to eat. Neglecting these basic
guidelines can result in food spoilage, and in some cases, illness or death.
Once you familiarise yourself with the VS820 procedures, you will feel at ease using
the Chamber Machine and enjoy a higher quality of stored foods.
▪ Package only fresh foods. Do not package old or rancid foods. An already bad
product does not improve with vacuum packaging.
▪ Fresh foods (Meats, vegetables, cheeses, etc.) should be refrigerated at 4˚C or
below or frozen after vacuum packaging.
▪ Vacuum packaging removes a high percentage of air. This slows the growth of
most living microorganisms which degrade food, such as aerobic bacteria and
molds. However, some forms of bacteria such as clostridium botulinum
(responsible for botulism) are anaerobic and grow in the absence of oxygen.
▪ The foods susceptible to botulinum should be refrigerated for a short term and
frozen for long-term storage. Consume immediately after heating.
▪ Vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage will emit gasses when
vacuum sealed. To prepare these foods for vacuum packaging, you must blanch
them first.
▪ All perishable foods must be refrigerated or frozen to prevent spoilage.
▪ Vacuum packaging is not a substitute for canning.
