How to Use Mylar Bags for Long-Term Food Storage

How to Use Mylar Bags for Long-Term Food Storage?

Food brands highly depend on the mylar bag packaging to ensure the prolonged shelf life of food items. Mylar packaging is known for its non-reactive and excellent barrier properties, ensuring the longevity of perishable food items. A food brand should invest in high-quality mylar bags to reduce product recurring manufacturing costs. 

How to use Mylar bags to pack and store products directly impacts the products’ shelf life.  Read this article to learn a step-by-step process on how to use mylar bags for long-term food storage and 4 considerations to ensure added protection. Continue reading!

Customization Process of Mylar Bags:

Add a personalized touch to your food mylar for branding and product information to captivate more customers. How to use mylar bags based on how you customize them for specific products. The following are some factors you may consider when customizing mylar bags:

Know the Product – its requirements and speifications

Understand the nature of your product and its packaging needs. For example, you may consider packing food items that contain less moisture, like grains, flour, spices, herbs, and snacks. However, semi-liquid products such as ketchups, syrups, and sauces can be stored in mylar bags for long-term storage. Also, be clear about what quantity you want to pack in the bags to customize bag sizes accordingly.

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Choose the Right Material for your Mylar Bags Production:

Collaborate with the packaging company that offers packaging at competitive rates without compromising quality. Choose polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and customize its thickness according to the products’ needs. For example, premium wholesale mylar bags for bulk food storage need to be at least 7-8 mil thick for long-term food storage.

Pick the Right Size for Mylar Bags production:

Customize the mylar bag thickness according to your products’ long-term packaging needs. And also choose the size that aligns with the quantities you want to pack in the bags. Standard mylar bag thickness ranges from 3-5 mil. However, it may increase depending on the type of mylar bags you use for different products. 

Product Filling Process of Mylar Bags:

Once you are done customizing mylar bags, start the product filling process as follows:

Pick the Right Bag:

Choose the bag size and style that aligns with the packaging needs of the food items you want to pack for long-term storage. The products you want to display on retail shelves mostly require small, medium, and large-sized bags. However, if you want to store products in your warehouse, you might need extra-large mylar bags for bulk food items.

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Add Oxygen Absorber:

The next step is to use oxygen absorbers to remove oxygen from the bag, further extending the shelf life of the food. Removing moisture and oxygen with the help of an oxygen absorber helps prevent food spoilage. 

Put the Food in the Bags:

Measure the food quantity you want to pack in a mylar bag. Remember, do not overfill the products. Once the product is filled, measure the package again to ensure you have packed the right amount of the product.

Remove Excess Air:

Once the product is filled, press the mylar bag to remove the excess air. Removing excessive air from the package prevents air bubbles in the package that can affect the food quality.

Mylar Bag Sealing Process

Follow the sealing process according to your product requirements and usage. The sealing process depends on which sealing mechanism you want to incorporate into the food mylar bags. Some popular sealing mechanisms are as follows:

Heat Sealing:

Use a heat sealer specially designed for mylar bags to ensure a secure closure. Heat sealing helps you create an airtight seal. You can also go with flat heat sealing using an iron or hair straightener with a professional technique of sealing mylar bags.

Vacuum Sealing:

Use a vacuum sealer to ensure an airtight seal for long-term food storage. Vacuum sealing is ideal for storing bulkier products for a longer time. Generally, large grains, flour, and rice mylar bags are packed using vacuum sealing.  

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Zip Lock Sealing:

Another excellent and user-friendly sealing mechanism is the zip-lock closure. Most retail product mylar bags that consumers use daily contain a zip lock.

Packaged Mylar Bags Storing Process

Not all the food items packed in mylar bags are displayed at the retail stores. Some are stored at warehouses to reduce recurring manufacturing costs.

Get a Storage Bucket:

Store the mylar bag packaged food in an airtight bucket to ensure safe storage. Fill the labelled mylar food bags in the bucket. Don’t overfill the bucket to ensure products stay intact during storage.  

Label the Bucket:

Label each storage bucket with the product details to make your supply chain and business operations easier.

Put in the Right Temperature:

The last and important step is to keep the mylar bag storage bucket at the right temperature to ensure product longevity. Avoid extreme temperatures. Keep the sealed buckets in cool and dark places. 

Final Thoughts!

The food industry and mylar packaging go hand in hand. Mylar bags’ excellent barrier properties keep the products safe from moisture, oxygen, and air to ensure longevity. Understanding how to use mylar bags benefits your brand in many ways, from reducing recurring manufacturing costs to extended shelf life.

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