Hesperian Health Guides
Safe Food Storage
HealthWiki > A Community Guide to Environmental Health > Chapter 15: Sustainable Farming > Safe Food Storage
One of the tragedies in communities that produce food is that much of the food goes bad because of weather, pests, or other causes. Safe food storage is as important as the ability to grow food in the first place.
Contents
Protect stored grains from pests
After harvest, much grain is lost to rodents, insect pests, or rot. To protect grains in storage:
- Dry and store the grains as soon after harvest as possible to avoid loss in the fields. Well-dried grains should be soft enough to break with your teeth and dry enough that they make a good cracking noise.
- Store dried grains in well-sealed, clean containers in a place protected from moisture and pests.
- Smoke the grain before it is stored to kill pests.
- Repel insects, but not rodents, with wood ash and plants such as hot chilies, eucalyptus, and other strong smelling plants. (If grain is already infected with pests, the protection will not work.) Dry the eucalyptus leaf, chili seeds, or other plant and grind it to a powder. Mix 1 handful of the powder with each kilo of grain or beans to keep insects out. Be careful not to breathe in the powder. More time and effort are needed to wash the grains before eating, but there will be more grain to eat.
Storing fruits, vegetables, meat, and milk
Fruits, vegetables, meat, and milk are full of moisture. Moisture is needed by the bacteria and fungus that cause rot. Keeping foods cold or frozen will slow down the rotting process. When there is no way to store foods cold, they can still be preserved by:
- drying. Foods can be dried in the sun, in an oven on very low heat, or by putting them in salt. If kept away from pests and moisture, dried foods can be stored for a very long time.
- smoking. Foods put over a smoky fire will be preserved both by the drying that happens and by the smoke. Meats are commonly preserved by smoking.
- fermenting. Fermenting, like rotting, is the process of letting bacteria and fungus change food. But unlike rotting, fermenting allows only certain kinds of bacteria and fungus to grow. Cheese and some kinds of sour breads are fermented foods. Fermented foods can be more nutritious and easier to digest than the food they are made from.
- pickling and jarring. Fruits, vegetables, and meats are soaked in vinegar and kept in covered or sealed containers. The sourness of the vinegar keeps bacteria and fungus from growing. Fruits can be cooked in sugar syrup and sealed in boiled jars to preserve them.
Storing root crops
Root crops can last a long time if they are stored in places that are dark, fairly dry, cold, and safe from pests. Layering root crops in straw or sawdust so they do not touch each other keeps them fresh.
How to make a natural refrigerator
Leave the Pot-in-Pot in a dry, open place. As dry air surrounds it, water in the sand passes through the outer surface of the larger pot, making it stay cool. When the water passes from the sand, the inner container is cooled, destroying harmful germs and preserving the food inside. The only maintenance is washing and replacing the sand every so often.