You can extend the life of your staples, your food, if you just follow a few guidelines. Storing food the right way will keep it fresh. Making sure that your emergency food supply is good and ready to eat is important in any emergency preparedness plan.
For a good overall tip for preserving staples is to store them in a cool, dark location, but make sure that this location is also dry. Basements are idea for storage, as long as you have a dehumidifier that can take the moisture from the air and prevent the growth of mold.
Whenever you buy an item, inspect the packaging. Make sure that the packaging is secure before you bring it home. You may also want to repackage or double package the items. For example, using a vacuum seal will extend the life of your food, and it is especially useful when you buy groceries in bulk.
Make sure that you have a system in place for rotating and using your stock of food. For example, you can pull two cans of vegetables off of your shelf and use them in your regular meals, replacing them with fresher cans. The freshest cans should go to the back of the shelf and the oldest should be at the front so they are the first to use. This will help to make sure that you always have good and newer food available to you.
Regularly inspect your food stockpile and staples to make sure that all is well and to find out if you need to replace any of it. Check for bulging lids, grains that have bugs or specks, signs of leakage or long expired dates. If you aren’t sure about something, throw it away and replace it to be safe.
Take advantage of your freezer for longer storage. Grains such as flour and rice benefit from being stored in the freezer. They will last longer this way.