Preventing stored grains, masalas, papads etc. from getting spoilt by pests, insects, caterpillar worms and fungii!

There is this general saying that if insects are there, such produces are grown with less pesticides, etc. But, once insects form, they reproduce crazy.
Insect eggs my be lying dormant in grains after they are processed, grows out as larvae once they are in right condition.
Can vacuum sealing cause Clostridium botulinum aka botulism, etc.
Very difficult subject indeed...
 
Isn't the problem with toxin already created by this bacteria than bacteria itself ?
Seems Botulinum toxin also get destroyed at internal temperature greater than 85 °C for 5 minutes or longer.
 
I had read about some storage bags for preventing insect infestation on a agriculture related WA group. I'll try and hunt out the topic and post here if I find it.
 
The simplest solution is vacuum packing. I buy directly from organic farmers and then repack them in 1 Kg vacuum packs for storage. I bought 20 kg of groundnuts last year, and they are still good in vacuum packs. We open the packs as required and store the unused portion of the opened bag in the freezer. The same groundnuts, left open after opening the vacuum pack, are spoilt in 20 to 30 days. I do the same with Pickles and Tamarind so they do not lose their color and flavour to oxidation.

I have grown organic paddy that I have stored for aging using hermetically sealed 50 Kg bags so avoid pests.
 
We use Dry Mirchi mixed with Rice in Rice bags, all masala powders go into fridge, dry the rice by taking it out all under the fan or direct sunlight, after we buy from shop like Flipkart we dry the rice and pour it back into the bags, same goes for all kinds of flours.
 
DigitalDude said:
Try those big silica moisture absorber packs. They are usually used for clothes storage.

or napthalene balls inside cloth pouches can help repel all insects in the worst case.
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Already tried naptha balls inside pouches etc. but its smell makes everything stored into naptha taste which ends into throwing all the grains.

jsmithe said:
Tried this and it works except on the insects that infest "kabuli channa"
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Ya.. chana insects which are tiny black ones causing tiny or even large holes into them.
Also, for storing everything in a fridge one might need to separately buy a dedicated cold storage or a nominal fridge which of course isn't possible unless the person has a spacious 2-3 bhk with ample of space for additional appliances. Not a viable option for everyone.

Since childhood, my parents house got 2 refrigerators- one strictly for stashing stuff while other for a typical regular use. So, almost everything is mostly saved from getting spoiled!

Mr.J said:
Of course not. But you can spread these items across multiple smaller drums like these: https://www.amazon.in/Bartan-Drum-Container-10kg-15kg/dp/B07XDKS3MY

So even if items in one drum get spoiled, it doesn't affect items in other drums.
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Space constraints mate. I live a 1bhk so imagine-small rooms and space. Else it will be too much dabba dabba and will look like a typical kachra type chawl house.

kiran6680 said:
It's a big problem, and I'm also looking for solutions. But one thing that helped us is that we noticed stuff bought from a particular store had a tendency to develop these insects. They had their own store brand. These insects then spread to neighbouring boxes too, they are very smart.

We stopped buying from that store, and it helped contain that particular bout of infestation.
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Totally agree! Its a hit or a miss. Yet shopkeeper will blame saying"maal hi accha nahi a raha hai and such typical lines"
We too buy individual particular stuff from a particular shop so I have 5-6 kirana shops and mostly fixed a to which grain/food to be bought from which shop. Every shop has its merit and demerit. Even Dmart and Reliance etc. aren't spared here.
 
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jsmithe said:
Add a bay leaf into the storage container
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I bought 100g dried bay leaves, stored in a box. In 6 months those bay leaves were all infested with insects. This was in Bangalore, around 2010.
nRiTeCh said:
Already tried naptha balls inside pouches etc
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Naphthalene balls are carcinogenic. And if food is kept with them, their smell doesn't get out of the food even in a year. Bad stuff.
 
blr_p said:
Grains, masalas & papads aren't eaten raw. They are cooked, fried or roasted.

10 minutes at 90°C kills the boutilism bacteria.

Can this bacteria survive that?

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But irrespective of their dry nature insects and even fungus strive on it so whats the point in baking/heating and then frying and then consuming it.
In fact tbh we tried that too and its tastes yaaks so better not risk our health!

Feels very bad esp. when mother makes those papds in hot summers for them to last at least for the next 6-10 months as an yearly storage but here comes these insects and fungii thing spoiling all her hard efforts!:confused:
Hence, I have requested my mother in law, mother, aunts etc. to not to make anything for us as its gonna end in trash sadly! We buy from the market as and when required. Sad story but have to live with it!
kiran6680 said:
I bought 100g dried bay leaves, stored in a box. In 6 months those bay leaves were all infested with insects. This was in Bangalore, around 2010.
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I would say these days insects ants etc. everyone are so immune that I have even witnessed cockroaches smelling Hit spray, discussing something and doing their usual jobs! Just like we see those usual memes of a mosquito sitting on a allout liquid machine!

kiran6680 said:
Naphthalene balls are carcinogenic. And if food is kept with them, their smell doesn't get out of the food even in a year. Bad stuff.
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Exactly! Even if you wash those grains/stuff even in hot water the naptha taste wont go and you will get the feeling like you are consuming phenyl or some toiletries type stuff.
 
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nRiTeCh said:
But irrespective of their dry nature insects and even fungus strive on it so whats the point in baking/heating and then frying and then consuming it.
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Because that's how you consume those items. Vacuum sealed means none of those insects or fungii will survive.
nRiTeCh said:
In fact tbh we tried that too and its tastes yaaks so better not risk our health!
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That's not what I'm suggesting here. I'm saying cook them as normal.
nRiTeCh said:
Feels very bad esp. when mother makes those papds in hot summers for them to last at least for the next 6-10 months as an yearly storage but here comes these insects and fungii thing spoiling all her hard efforts!:confused:
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You should give vacuum sealing a go. Nothing like home made papads. You will have to experiment and see what works.
 
nRiTeCh said:
I meant bake/heat cool them before storing.
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That's not necessary.
nRiTeCh said:
Thats what cooked, consumed and puked!
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You did not vacuum seal did you. Just put into some container that was airtight. You tried to re-cook something that was already heat treated. I doubt this gives good results.
TEUser2K1 said:
How helpful is high end UV light based sterilization of food ?
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Effective against viruses. Not so much against bacteria. Some may be affected.some won't be.
 
abmr2d2 said:
I had read about some storage bags for preventing insect infestation on a agriculture related WA group. I'll try and hunt out the topic and post here if I find it.
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Found these two links in the WA chat history of the agricultural group.
1) https://www.savegrainbags.com
These products are grain bags/pouches which seem to hermetically seal the items inside. They say the plastic used is thicker than the normally used ones. They have products from 500g to 100kg.

2) https://vaculoc.com
These are vacuum sealed bags, having valves which use a hand/foot pump for creating the vacuum. Found their product interesting.
They also have sizes ranging from small 1 liter volume to 100 liter volume.
The vacuum pump used has to be purchased separately and is 350/-
I haven't tried both of these but the vaculoc one seems interesting..
 
^awesome. Looks like the real deal and affordable too. I'd recommend a powered vacuum pump of some sort though as handheld can be quite tedious. Maybe the foot pump is better.
 
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