Food Safety; Vacuum-Packaging; Deep-Freezing; Verify - Wartmann WM-1604 EU User Manual

Food Safety

Vacuum-packaging

When vacuum-packaging food in vacuum-storage
boxes, most of the surrounding air is extracted
whilst the inflow of fresh air is being prevented.
This way the storage life of food is lengthened.
Vacuum-packaging helps to prevent freezer burn,
which is the dehydration of the surface layer of the
food. This is characterised by white or brown-red
discolouration of the food.
Vacuum-packaging contributes to the preservation
of the taste and the overall quality of the food. It
slows the growth of aerobic micro-organisms that
could cause:
• Mould. As mould won't grow in environments
with little oxygen, the vacuum-packaging will
strongly reduce the risk of moulding.
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• Fermentation. Fermentation can be noticed
by the odour or taste of the food. Fermentation
requires water and sugar and will develop at
room temperature. Fermentation can also develop
when air is lacking. In order to slow the yeast
growth items should be cooled. Only at deep-
freezing temperature, this growth will come to
a halt.
• Bacteria. Bacterial growth can often be
recognised by a nasty smell, discolouration and
a soft or slimy layer. Under specific circumstances,
clostridium botulinum, which causes botulism, can
grow without air. This is rare, but also extremely
dangerous. You can neither smell nor taste it.
The vacuum-packaging is no replacement for
cooling or deep-freezing. Perishable foods that
require cooling or freezing, must still be kept in
the refrigerator or freezer.

Deep-freezing

In order to safely preserve foods, it must be kept at
low temperatures. The growth of micro-organisms is
strongly reduced at temperatures of 4°C and below.
At a temperature of -17°C, growth will nearly come
to a full stop. This does however not kill
the micro-organisms.
If you wish to store your vacuum packed food
long-term, then always place it in the freezer.

Verify

Always check if food is spoiled, before consuming
it. You must realise that vacuum-packaging cannot
undo spoilage. Vacuum-packaging only ensures that
the quality of food is retained longer. How much
longer you can preserve the food, depends on
different factors, such as the quality of the food at
the time of packaging. We advise to only package
fresh food and mention the date of packaging on
the package.
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