Oxygen absorbers?

[90Gizmo]

Hi all. I'm starting to use these heavy duty mylar bags for storage... Each has about 2z loosely packed. The bags came with oxygen absorber packs. Is there any reason not to use them?

 

[3Berries]

Found out they are packages of iron that when the O2 attacks turns to rust.

Is The Use Of Oxygen Absorbers Equivalent To Vacuum Packaging?

Oxygen absorbers remove oxygen more effectively than vacuum packaging. Air is about 20 percent oxygen and 80 percent nitrogen. Absorbers remove only the oxygen. The air left in the container is mostly nitrogen and will not affect the food or allow the growth of insects. Therefore, the final packaging may not have the appearance of being "vacuum-packed" because of the remaining nitrogen in the package. The only way to get a good vacuum seal inside the bag is to use a vacuum sealer.

Oxygen absorbers alone will not be able to accomplish this as they only remove oxygen, which is roughly 20% of the air inside the bag. However, the goal should be to remove the oxygen as the remaining contents of the air will not affect the long-term storage life of your food.

https://www.usaemergencysupply.com/i...ood-storage​

 

[90Gizmo]

Thanks 3Bs! Rust isn't scary, I think I'll toss them in.

 

[3Berries]

Well at least we know why it says not to eat them! I'm going to cut one open the next time I come across one.