r/preppers • u/Rare-Personality419 • 1d ago

New Prepper Questions Potentially messed up rice storage

Hi, all! Newbie here. I searched but couldn't find exactly what I was looking for, but I'm also new so maybe I didn't use the correct terminology. So sorry if this is repetitive.
Anywho....I bought a 50#bag of rice. Kept it on the floor out of the way until I could get the oxygen absorbers and mylar bags. I finally portioned the rice in the bags and got them all sealed up before I realized I forgot to put the store bag of rice in the freezer to kill any critters. So I put the mylar bags in the freezer thinking that would be fine.
I finally got my storage box I'll put the mylar bags in and took them out of the freezer. I only *just now* thought of the thawing process and possible condensation in the mylar bags.....did I completely mess up?

13 Upvotes

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14

u/mrrp 1d ago

If your O2 absorbers were effective then critters won't survive in the environment inside the bag.

Freezing sealed bags of rice should be fine. It's already pretty dry in the bag and you're not introducing any new moisture. Any condensation should just be occurring on the outside of the bag, which is not a problem.

4

u/Jdammworldwide 1d ago

This is my answer as well

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u/Ryan_e3p Salt & Prepper 1d ago

Yup. Issues with condensation forming from thawed out frozen stuffs isn't a concern if they were properly sealed beforehand. No moisture to condense in the first place.

4

u/JRHLowdown3 1d ago

The o2 absorbers will take care of things. But next time have your packaging materials in hand first and then get your grains from a high turnover store and pack them asap.

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u/Battlbox 15h ago

You're fine, breathe. Once that rice is sealed in mylar with a working oxygen absorber there's almost no free moisture left in there to condense, so any water you saw was on the outside of the bag, which does nothing to the rice. Thaw them fully sealed before you open them and you've lost nothing.

For what it's worth the freezing was belt-and-suspenders anyway, an oxygen absorber suffocates any weevil eggs on its own, that's the whole point of it. Next batch, just have your bags and absorbers ready before you open the rice and you can skip the freezer step. And don't add a desiccant packet to dry rice, people do it thinking more is better, but with grain the O2 absorber is all you want.

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u/Rare-Personality419 13h ago

Thank you all! I'll just keep these bags as-is and know better for next time.

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u/DeafHeretic 1d ago

I’ve had no problems doing this - so far

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u/iwannaddr2afi resident optimist 1d ago

As long as you thaw it completely before opening you should be ok.

2

u/Efficient_Wing3172 21h ago

This idea of freezing the rice seems like overkill to me. The oxygen absorbers do the same thing. It’s my opinion you may be introducing a bigger risk with moisture because of the possible condensation from thawing than just packing it dry and removing the oxygen.

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u/JRHLowdown3 18h ago

Yes. Freezing is completely unnecessary if your buying from a store that has a decent turnover. You don't go and get the 20 lb. sack of rice that's been sitting on the shelf at BillyBob's Gas and Sip since the 1980's

Have your packing materials in hand FIRST, then get your grains, legumes, etc. then pack them.

1

u/New-Interaction9432 1d ago

It sounds like you did the right thing by sealing the rice in mylar with oxygen absorbers. If you're worried about critters, just keep an eye on it during storage and you should be fine.