If you are dedicated to long-term food storage or just beginning to learn the ropes of long-term food storage, you might know that oxygen absorbers are a critical element of the whole process.
Designed to remove excess oxygen from storage containers, oxygen absorbers ensure the food remains in the best quality over a long period. Although the type of food and fat content will define its ability to stay preserved long-term, adding oxygen absorbers will assist in prolonging the life of food items.
So, it is clear that you need to add oxygen absorbers to your storage containers.
But how many oxygen absorbers packets must be added to get the desired results? Is the number of oxygen absorbers packets added depend on the size of the storage container? Does it depend on the type of food you are storing?
This blog will answer all your questions comprehensively. So, let’s get started.
Yes, absolutely! The type of food will determine the amount of air and thus oxygen trapped between food particles. This will determine the number of oxygen absorber packets needed.
For example, foods that are dense such as flour, rice, grains, wheat and more will trap less air in between food particles. This means it will have less oxygen between the particles. The number of oxygen absorber packets needed will be less.
On the other hand, foods that are less dense such as pasta, beans, and others will trap more air between food particles thus more oxygen. Hence, you will need to add a slightly greater number of oxygen absorber packets.
Most definitely! The larger the storage container, the more food items it can store, and the more air thus oxygen it will trap between food particles and will require a greater number of oxygen absorber packets.
For example, the number of oxygen absorber packets required in a 6-gallon food storage bucket will be more than the number of oxygen absorber packets required ina 1-gallon food storage bucket.
As mentioned above, this will depend on the size of the container and the type of food. To make it easier, we have created a comprehensive size chart showing the number of oxygen packets based on the size of the container and types of food.
Dense Foods (Wheat/Grain/Flour/Rice)
Type of Food Container
Oxygen Absorber Capacity
No. of Oxygen Absorber Packets
5-Gallon Food Storage Bucket Item
