Best Methods To Tell If Oxygen Absorbers Are Still Good
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Whether using oxygen absorbers to preserve your frozen foods or items like shoes and bags, you want to be sure that it still serves their function.
You wouldn’t want your food to spoil because of your negligence, would you? In this article, you’ll learn to tell if oxygen absorbers are still good.
How To Tell If Oxygen Absorbers Are Still Good – Guide
Oxygen absorbers are a great way to keep food fresh and extend the shelf life of your products, but they can only do their job if they’re still good.
Knowing if oxygen absorbers are still good is a handy skill for anyone in the food storage business.
How To Tell If Oxygen Absorbers Are Working Using Expiry Date
Packaged oxygen absorbers have a shelf life of six months and a year, although the expiry date isn’t written on the packet.
An absorber has a concise shelf life after opening the package; use it within 15 minutes.
If your oxygen absorber has stayed longer than a year, it may no longer be good.
If it’s passed 15 minutes after you opened it, don’t use it.
Before throwing them away, try other testing methods.
How To Tell If Oxygen Absorbers Are Working From Their Sound
Get an airtight container with a lid.
Dry it off any moisture and drop your oxygen absorbers in there.
Seal the container and listen.
You will hear a hissing or whistling sound as the gas escapes from the container.
If you don’t hear the hissing noise, they’re probably bad.
How To Tell If Oxygen Absorbers Are Still Good By Touch And Color
Use your palm to feel the pack or pinch it. If air has entered, the pack will become gritty and brutal. It shows that the oxygen absorber is no longer efficient.
Open the container or mylar bag to inspect the oxygen absorbers.
The pack color will be pink if the oxygen absorber is still good.
If you’ve exposed it to air, the pack color will be slightly purple.
When you notice that the pack color has changed to blue, the blue indicates that the oxygen absorber is no longer helpful.
If there is no discoloration, then the absorbers are probably still good.
How To Tell If Oxygen Absorbers Are Still Good Using Water
This method relies on simple chemistry, and the absorber will absorb the oxygen in the water.
What You’ll Need:
Sellotape
A transparent jar. Note that the jar must be empty and clean when you want to use it.
Water
Plate or bowl. Ensure that the plate you use isn’t too flat or too small. It should be large enough to contain water and fit the jar.
Procedure
Take out a packet of the oxygen absorber from the mylar bag.
Take a piece of white sellotape and use it to paste the packet to a corner inside the empty, transparent jar.
Turn the opening to face down.
Pour little water into a flat plate or bowl. Then, place the opening part of the jar in the water.
Allow it for 30 minutes – 1 hour.
If the oxygen absorber is still functioning, it will suck up the water from the plate into the jar.
How To Tell If Oxygen Absorbers Are Still Good Using Food
You can use food items to test the efficiency of your oxygen absorbers, and it’s straightforward too!
You can do it at home with a few supplies that you probably have lying around the house.
What You’ll Need:
Airtight container (e.g., mason jar)
Oxygen absorber(s)
Food item(s)
Using Milk
Milk works just fine for testing out your oxygen absorber.
Get a packet of milk and sieve it into a jar. You can use any milk of your choice.
Ensure that the jar is filled to the brim.
Take out one pack of oxygen absorbers and put it into the entire jar of milk.
Cover the jar adequately. If possible, use a cover that can be sealed.
You’ll know if your oxygen absorbers are working if your package isn’t leaking or bulging. If there are no signs of leakage or bulging, your package has been successfully sealed and will last much longer than usual without spoiling.
Using Cheese
Cheese is highly perishable but worse when exposed to oxygen, making it great for testing your oxygen absorbers.
Slice your cheese and drop a piece of it in a jar.
Drop one pack of oxygen absorbers inside and seal immediately. Make sure the jar is airtight.
Leave the jar overnight.
Check back after 24 hours. If you notice any mold inside the jar, you probably didn’t seal it well, or the oxygen absorbers are bad.
Using Bread
Bread has little moisture, but it can spoil within a week, depending on its exposure to oxygen.
Put three slices of bread (store-bought) on a plate.
Drop a packet of oxygen absorbers in there.
Seal off the plate with plastic wrap and leave it on the counter for a few days to see whether mold would grow on them.
The oxygen absorbers aren’t good if you see mold on the bread.
How To Tell If Oxygen Absorbers Are Still Good By Tearing It Up
For this test, you’ll take a pack of oxygen absorbers and tear them up. I assume you bought a packet of about 100, so tearing one to confirm it’s good shouldn’t be a problem.
Oxygen absorbers are made of iron powder and salt, so you’ll rely on the appearance of iron for this test.
Use scissors to cut the top of the oxygen absorber packet.
Pour the content onto a white plate or plain paper.
You should see shiny pieces of iron in the mixture.
If they appear brownish, they have reacted with oxygen from the environment and are rusted.
Preservation Methods
Put them inside a vacuum-sealed bag and store them in the freezer. However, you must use it all within one or two months. The reason is that if it stays for long inside the freezer, the plastic will soon begin to absorb the oxygen and shorten the durability of your oxygen absorbers.
Get a clean mason jar, dry the inside, and put them. Ensure that the jar is tightly closed to prevent air.
The highest you can store your oxygen absorbers is six months. It will lose potency if you don’t use it after six months. So, it’s not advisable to always buy them in excess.
You can also store them inside mylar bags, then seal the bag’s opening with a sealing machine.
Wrap Up
Oxygen absorbers work tremendously and help extend your food items’ shelf life. But they do have an expiration date written on the pack.
Hence, it would help if you were mindful when using them.
What you can do is keep them in dry environments and make sure the seal doesn’t open. If you’ve had them for up to 6 months, it’ll be safer if you test them before usage.
Good thing you know how to tell if oxygen absorbers are still good from these methods we’ve explained.
