Posted on July 19 2019
Have you ever wondered if there are foods you should not be vacuum sealing? There are many foods you can vacuum seal for extended freshness; unfortunately there are a handful that you should not preserve using this method. Some foods contain anaerobic bacteria, which can grow without the presence of air. Within a vacuum sealed pouch, with reduced oxygen, these bacteria will grow and may pose a risk to your health.
Do not vacuum seal:
- raw mushrooms
- garlic
- soft cheeses (blue cheese, brie, camembert, ricotta and other soft and unpasteurized cheeses)
- freshly cooked or steamed vegetables (safe to vacuum seal after they are at room temperature)
In addition, many common vegetables emit a gas when stored. If these vegetables - in the Cruciferae or Brassicaceae family - are kept in a vacuum sealed bag, this gas will cause them to spoil. To store these vegetables properly they should be blanched, dried, then vacuum sealed and frozen for storage.
Blanch first:
- arugula
- bok choy
- broccoli
- brussels sprouts
- cabbage
- cauliflower
- kale
- radishes
- turnips
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When vacuum sealing leftovers, it will generally last twice as long as it would have without vacuum sealing. For example, your pizza should last about a week vs. 3 days. Vacuum sealing can help extend the shelf life of food because it reduces the exposure to oxygen, which slows down the deterioration process. While vacuum sealing helps inhibit bacterial growth, it does not eliminate the need for proper food safety practices. If the food was prepared and cooled properly, using the food safety guidelines, you shouldn’t have to worry about avoiding certain pizza ingredients.
What’s the go with vacuum sealing a cooked pizza ?
Hi Anon,
Unfortunately, we have not done any testing on mayo but from what I could find online, vacuum sealing homemade mayo only last about 2 weeks.
Can i vacuum seal products with raw eggs in it, like mayo? And will it last 3x longer?
Hello Miriam – when vacuum sealing dried mushrooms oxygen absorbers are not necessary as the vacuum machine is removing the air for you. As a reminder, do not vacuum seal raw mushrooms. Some foods contain anaerobic bacteria, which can grow without the presence of air. Within a vacuum sealed pouch, with reduced oxygen, these bacteria will grow and may pose a risk to your health.
Hello Patricia – we recommend pre-freezing many things before vacuum sealing them. This keeps the desired shape of the item and saves room in your freezer.
Hi Emily – I would love to chat with you more about what kind of foods you are looking to vacuum seal. The different kinds of food require different answers. Feel free to contact us at 1-800-538-1442 or we have a great food storage chart available on our website www.FoodVacBags.com. Looking forward to hearing from you.
I see raw mushrooms cannot be vacuum sealed, but what about dried mushrooms? And the answer is yes, should oxygen absorbers be added too?
Can I use a glass container with lid and seal frozen lasagna with my food sealer once I get the food frozen.
Hello! 🥰 I’m waiting on a delivery of my first vacuum sealer, and am a little scared tbh.. I’ve also purchased a high end food dehydrator, for my prepping supplies, and have read that food with fats don’t dehydrate.. so… I was wondering about air fried food? Will this vacuum seal well, and what would the shelf life/fridge/freezer life be? I’m not sure if I could dehydrate air fried food to vacuum seal it?
Very grateful for any advice 🙏🕊️
Hello – Yes, you can vacuum seal dried pasta like ramen noodles. I would poke a small hole in the packaging if you’d like the air to be removed from the packaging as well. Just be careful to use the pulse setting on your machine. You could easily crush the pasta.
If I wanted to seal/store Ramen noodles (prepackaged) in vacuum sealed bags do I need to put a tiny hole in each package first?
Hi Larry – Yes, you can vacuum seal pitted prunes. If stored in the refrigerator, they can last 6-12 months, in the freezer they can last 12-18 months.
Unfortunately, we have never tried to vacuum seal the fried pork skins. I would think it would be difficult to seal because the pressure of the vacuum seal with probably crush them. If you happen to give this a try, please let us know how it turns out.
Can you vacuum seal prunes, like say Sunsweet Pitted Prunes? Do you have to be concerned about anaerobic bacteria?
Can you vacuum seal fried pork skins, and if so, how long should they last?
Hi Shelby – Yes you can vacuum seal fresh loaves of bread. Here is a blog post that might help! https://foodvacbags.com/blogs/foodsaverblogs/can-you-vacuum-seal-bread?pos=3&_sid=8d2d56aa9&ss=r
Can you vacuum seal fresh homemade loaves of bread?
There seems to be a lot of mixed information out there regarding vacuum-sealing cooked mushrooms and garlic. I reached out to the USDA and the FDA to try to get a correct answer for you. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find a firm answer for you.
can you vacuum pack cooked mushrooms and garlic for example when they are ingredients in a sauce?