Preparedness Products

Oxygen Absorbers

mylar®

Food Preservation

Desiccants

Heat Sealers

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If you are preparing for the possibility of a disaster in the year 2000, IMPAK is supplying the materials necessary for long-term food and product storage.

These packets eliminate the presence of oxygen in foodstuffs such as grain and milk powder, ensuring long-term shelf stability. They have been used by the US military to extend the shelf-life of bread for combat troops to up to two years.

How does one calculate the amount of oxygen in the container? Below are listed the volumes (in cubic centimeters) of various containers. The most important number to know is that, air is 20.5% oxygen.

There are two key elements to keep in mind. One is the headspace and the other is the voidspace. If a five-gallon bucket were filled to the rim with children's marbles, the spaces in between the marbles (void spaces) would represent 38% of the volume of the five-gallon pail (0.38 x 19,000 = 7,220 cc's). Of this number, 20.5% is oxygen.

The next item to consider is the headspace. If you fill a number ten can to 90% of its volume, you will have 398 cubic centimeters of headspace. This headspace will contain 81.6 cubic centimeters of oxygen (0.205 x 398 = 81.6). In order to determine how much oxygen absorbing capacity you require, we must determine the oxygen level in the headspace AND the void space.

There are 231 cubic inches in a gallon and 16.4 cubic centimeters in a cubic inch. Oxygen absorbers are rated by their capacity to absorb oxygen as measured in cubic centimeters.

OXYGEN ABSORBERS (300's and 750's are the most commonly used sizes)

Are you packing food in bell jars? 50 cc absorbers are perfect for this application.

Do your food products need desiccants?

When used in conjunction with either a barrier bag (mylar®foil bag) or a sealed pail, there are usually no concerns regarding moisture damage. However, some people are very aware that the highly humid environment in which they reside is simply "a fact of life." In this case you may wish to use desiccant packs in the food storage container.

IMPORTANT: The desiccant packets must be placed at the bottom of the pail or barrier bag or in the middle of the food products. The desiccant bags must not be close to the oxygen absorbers. Desiccants will negatively affect the performance of the oxygen absorber when close by. We supply desiccant bags made from Tyvek. Tyvek is a material acceptable for food product contact. We have 1 ounce and 5.5 gram packets available. The 1 ounce packets are packaged 10 and 50 per bag. For those individuals and organizations for which humidity is a concern, we recommend two 1 ounce packets per 5 or 6 gallon pail, or two per large barrier bag. For some products that are already extremely dry and for which concern is minimal, you may use one packet.

TOPDRY Desiccant Bags

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For the smaller barrier bags (11.75" x 15") we recommend two of the 5.5 gram packets. Each packet is marked "1/6" on the outside. We also recommend using one of these in cans of dehydrated foods or moisture sensitive situations.

In the food processing area, these bags are known as oxygen barrier bags. Many people refer to them as mylar®foil bags because the outer layer of the bag is mylar®foil, which is a brand name for the Dupont Corporation's polyester film. Our mylar®foil bags are 5-layer structures of mylar®foil/polyethylene /00035 aluminum foil adhesive/linear low-density polyethylene (the total thickness of this material is 4.5 mils.)We have these bags in three standard sizes:

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The 60NY20-35 bags are ultra-strong, super tough, heavy-duty with nylon, and they can be stored inside your home without a plastic pail. This bag was designed to ship Macadamia nuts overseas.
For 15REY11-75, if you order 5,000 units or greater, it cost $388.00/K, or 0.388 each. When purchased in conjunction with our oxygen absorbers, 20,000 mylar®foil bags will cost $315/K or slightly less than $0.32 each. If your order increase substantially, the price of 40,000 mylar®foil bags is $288.00/K. A range of food items can be packed with a minimum two year shelf life in these bags utilizing a standard 300 cc oxygen absorber. Should you decide to go the vacuum packaging route, you will be able to use a 200 cc oxygen absorber.

OXYGEN BARRIER BAGS (mylar®FOIL BAGS) will greatly increase the shelf stability of your food products. Polyethylene pails are not a true oxygen barrier by themselves. The oxygen transmission rate is critical. (OTR) for example, our bags have a transmission rate of 0.001 cc's of oxygen per square meter per 24 hours. A clear mylar®/poly bag is 0.5 cc's/ square meter/ 24 hours, or 500 (FIVE HUNDRED!) times greater.

WARNING: Some companies and people will try to tell you that clear "FOODSAVER" bags are good for long term storage. THEY ARE NOT.(See our technical section for details.)

This is an extremely good question. The mylar®foil bags that are used for long-term food storage were originally designed for exporting Macadamia nuts in bulk. This bag is 4.5 mils thick and appears to look like aluminum foil. Although the mylar®foil layer is transparent, long-term food storage bags are NEVER transparent. Another type of mylar®foil with which many consumers are familiar is the "mylar®foil balloon" that is often sold at supermarkets for birthdays and other occasions. The industrial name for the mylar®foil balloon material is metallized polyester. This is product mostly cosmetic and has minimal oxygen barrier properties.

Any concerned individual should be very wary of an organization trying to promote "transparent" barrier bags or the shiny metallized polyester material as a food storage bag. IMPAK does produce these bags for certain uses. Long-term food storage should never be one of them and as a consumer you have the right to a fraud claim if you have received such information.(One good example to watch for is the US Military MRE products. The packaging material used to produce the MREs has a very high oxygen barrier. Often they will specify nylon as the outside layer of the material instead of polyester (mylar®foil) due to its stronger puncture resistance and oxygen barrier properties.) Most of all you will never see a simple mylar®foil (transparent) structure or shiny mylar®foil (metallized polyester) structure used for an MRE.

First the plastic pail is not an oxygen barrier(like a #10 can) so there is a slow transmission of oxygen through the polyethylene walls of the container over time. According to grain processors, the most common problem is insect infestation. Nothing will eliminate this as certainly as an oxygen barrier bag and an oxygen absorber. Gas flushing will always leave 2-5% oxygen minimum. Lastly, since the oxygen absorber will actually remove 20.5 % of the air that is within the container, it is possible for the absorber to pull in the wall of the container (the vacuum effect) to such a degree that the lid separates from the pail.

IMPORTANT: IF THE LID, WHICH SHOULD HAVE A GASKET, SEPARATES FROM THE BUCKET ENOUGH TO CREATE EVEN A VERY VERY SMALL OPENING THIS IS WHY THE HIGH QUALITY FOOD PACKERS USE A 4.5 MIL mylar®FOIL BAG INSIDE THEIR PLASTIC PAILS THE OXYGEN ABSORBER WILL BE DEPLETED WITHIN 72 MAXIMUM. THIS IS WHY THE HIGH QUALITY FOOD PACKERS USE A 4.5 MIL mylar® BAG INSIDE THEIR PLASTIC PAILS.

HEAT SEALERS

Heat sealers are critical to provide a proper barrier to oxygen for barrier bags. We recommend the 6-inch "constant heat" Clam type hot jaw Unit. This unit is available for $98.50 plus shipping. The jaws are sufficient to close any type of heat sealable multi-layer structure. They can be used to seal the standard 20" x 30" barrier bag used in the five-gallon pails.

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Vacuum Sealers

You can seal bag up to 10 inch wide, and the vacuum in fact removes enough air to allow the use of a smaller oxygen absorbers. To guarantee a three years minimum shelf life, we still recommend a 300 cc Oxygen Absorbing Packet.

For distributor Pricing call us at (323)277-4700.

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NEW!

We have an "Add on" the hot jaw unit heat sealer, the foot pedal which allow you to seal the bag hands-off. The item would cost as follows

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IMPORTANT INFORMATION
TO KNOW AFTER YOU OPEN
THE OXYGEN ABSORBERS

There are several different formulations for oxygen absorbers depending on whether food is frozen, refrigerated or destined for long-term storage. The most critical component for evaluation is the water activity level (AW). All dry grain, legumes, milk powder and pasta products have very low water activity levels. Thus, they require an oxygen absorber which has rapid activation. These oxygen absorbers are working within minutes of the package being opened. When packaging food for long-term storage, you should use the entire contents of one sealed vacuum packet bag within 30 to 60 minutes. If you know that you will be unable to use the entire quantity, set those packets aside in a small, clean, and dry glass jar with a secure screw-top lid. (A jam or pickle jar will work fine.)

We also provide a special "bag clip" (unlike any chip clip you have ever seen) that will keep the opened oxygen absorbers pouch secure for a minimum of three months. The clips are P/N BGCLP01 and are $5.95 each.

How much oxygen absorbent
capacity do you need for
standard containers?

We recommend 1500 cc's of oxygen absorbing capacity for 5 and 6 gallon pails. Thus, you could use 5 individual 300 cc packets, or 3 individual 500 cc packets, or 2 individual 750 cc packets. If you do not need an entire case of product, we provide individual pouches of the 300 cc packets.

Example: you have 55 pails of food product to place into long-term storage. You could use 165 individual 500 cc packets (3 packets/pail). However, the 500 cc packets come 1,000/case, and at this time we do not sell them in smaller pouches. The 300 cc packets are 150/pouch, and we can provide you with 2 pouches at $25.50/pouch. Each pail will require 5 individual packets for a total of 275 packets. The remaining 25 packets can be stored in a sealed glass jar for up to six months. (55 pails x 5 packets = 275 packets required.

For a one gallon pail, we recommend using one 300 cc absorber. For smaller containers (example: Mason jars) that are approximately one quart, we do provide 50 cc absorbers. However, these are packaged 250 per pouch with 5,400 per case. So you may wish to simply over compensate and utilize some of your 300 cc oxygen absorbers if this is for private use. In the future we hope to be able to provide prepackaged pouches of 50 cc absorbers at 50 units per pouch for $9.90. Pouches of 250 packets are available for $25.50.

PLEASE NOTE: If you contact us by e-mail we do not respond without a complete address, as well as a telephone number to contact in order to respond. We cannot respond to a Post Office box.

DO YOU NEED A
CAN SEALING MACHINE?

Gering & Son makes an excellent and inexpensive unit that is priced at approximately $795.00. This will adequately seal a variety of cans, especially the #10 can. Please contact Bonnie at (208) 466-9003 / 3rd St., No. Nampa, Idaho 83678.

STORAGE FOR MOISTURE
SENSITIVE DOCUMENTS

If you want to store moisture sensitive paper, photos, and documents, we offer desiccants which will protect your documents from moisture. We also provide an aluminum foil ZipSeal bag approximately 11" x 12 1/2" with a bottom gusset for $1.75 each or $2.65 each with a package of desiccant packets which change from blue to pink when they are saturated with moisture. Use P/N LPTG05/5P

HOW TO ORDER
PRODUCTS FROM IMPAK

You may order right here on our website by e-mail! If ordering by e-mail, please leave part numbers and the appropriate quantities and prices, as well as your telephone number and address(es). We will respond promptly with an order confirmation number.

When using a credit card to process your transaction, please refer to the following table to determine the credit card processing fees.

If you wish to pay by personal check and mail us your order, please do so. There will be no credit card processing fee or COD charge.

Note: checks MUST be made out to: IMPAK Corporation

*Shipping charges not included in product price.

If you are a resident of California, sales tax of 8.25% will be added to your order, unless you have a seller's permit, in which case we will need a copy of it.

For further questions, please contact Kevin Cullen in technical support at IMPAK Corporation, 2460 East 57th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90058, or e-mail tech support.

Thank you very much
for your business!