Plastic Food Storage Containers That Reduce Your Waste

A recent study of over 5,000 American households found that Americans throw away almost 70 percent of the food they buy. When asked why they waste food, survey participants cited spoilage as the number one reason. If you're interested in some techniques that may help you save money by wasting less food, read on. We've compiled some simple ideas to help you better utilize plastic food storage containers.
1. Food stored in the freezer is prone to freezer-burn, a chemical process that affects food stored in sub-zero temperatures by dehydrating it and making it foul tasting. To address this issue, you get what are called freezer-proof storage bags: special plastic food storage containers that are sealed against freezer burn. They keep the food as fresh as the day you bought it, for as long as three years!
Instead of using conventional plastic food storage containers to store your fruits and veggies, seal them in breathable vegetable bags, a new item available in the market. This keeps them fresher for as long as six weeks, of course, depending on the produce. These bags, specially designed for fruits and vegetables, allow a small amount of air circulation inside, thereby keeping them fresh.
3. Multi-compartment plastic food storage containers: these plastic containers are great for small amounts of leftovers, homemade broth, fruits and veggies, and just about anything else you can think of. They are especially handy because you can pop one "cube" of frozen food out at a time, making serving leftovers a breeze. Freeze individual cubes of fruit for smoothies or broth for soups.
4. Vacuum food storage: by using a special machine to extract air from your plastic food storage containers or bags you can keep your food fresh longer than using any other method. By leaving the containers free of air, your food will retain freshness and avoid freezer burn. Sucking the air out of the containers also means that they will take up less space in your refrigerator or freezer.
If you're like most people, you're interested in long term food storage techniques. You're tired to throwing expensive food into the garbage because there's no way to preserve it. Or you find a great buy at the store but know you don't have the room to store the extras you'd like to buy.

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Americans throw away almost 70% of the food they buy. The number one reason cited for waste is spoilage. Here are ways you can use plastic food storage containers to control food waste and save money. Try special containers that seal against freezer burn and keep food fresh for as long as three years, or breathable vegetable bags that prevent spoilage by allowing air circulation to keep vegetables fresh up to six weeks.

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by: FOOD Total views: 11 Word Count: 390 Date: Wed, 19 Mar 2008 Time: 11:58 AM 0 comments