Oxygen Absorbers
for Dehydrated Food

300cc Oxygen Absorber Pack300cc Oxygen Absorber Pack

Use oxygen absorbers for dehydrated food when you're ready to store your vacuum-sealed dehydrated fruits and/or vegetables.

TOP Frequently Asked Questions:

What are oxygen absorbers for dehydrated food?

They are little packets that we insert into our food vacuum-sealer bags before drawing out the air. They are available in different sizes, and below these FAQs, you'll see what size you need for the container you're using.

Where to buy oxygen absorbers?

I get mine from Amazon. Why? Because of their fast delivery, plus, they wouldn't be allowed to sell them on Amazon if they sold "duds." Having said that, you can return a "stale" package if it arrives with a PURPLE-colored pill inside it. That "freshness indicator pill" should still be PINK upon arrival.

What foods need oxygen absorbers?

Here are the main types of dried foods that benefit greatly from having oxygen absorbers added before sealing storage containers or putting into Mylar bags:

  • Dried beans, peas, lentils, chickpeas
  • Wheat, rice, oats, barley, other grains
  • Pasta, dried potatoes
  • Flour, sugar, salt
  • Nuts, seeds
  • Dried fruits
  • Dehydrated vegetables
  • Coffee, tea
  • Jerky
  • Nutritional yeast
  • Processed snacks (crackers, chips, trail mix, etc)
  • Dog/pet treats and kibble
  • Baking ingredients (baking soda, powder, yeast, etc)

The key requirements are that the food items need to already be very low moisture content to prevent absorbers from getting overwhelmed. Absorbers also require an airtight environment to work properly. By regulating oxygen and condensation, they effectively achieve a good balance.

So any dried goods destined for pantry or emergency food storage benefit greatly from oxygen absorber pairing before sealing them away, significantly lengthening freshness.

Oxygen absorbers for dehydrated food?

Yes, using oxygen absorbers tucked inside your food vacuum sealer bags before drawing out the air will protect your dehydrated food from mold and moisture for a longer period of time than without them!

Use These Sizes of Oxygen Absorbers
for These Container Sizes:

Use These Sizes of
Oxygen Absorbers for
These Container Sizes:

Oxygen absorbers are readily available in different sizes, such as 50cc, 100cc, 300cc, and 2000cc.

The reason for different sizes depends upon what size container your dehydrated foods are going to be placed in.

If you're using a small (half-pint) jar, use a 50cc oxygen absorber.

For a quart-sized jar or food vacuum sealer bag, use a 100cc oxygen absorber.

For a 10" x 14" Mylar bag, use a 300cc oxygen absorber.

For storage bins or buckets with lids, use a 2000cc oxygen absorber.

Read more about different oxygen absorber sizes here.


The page you are reading now is
ONE of the most IMPORTANT
pages on Easy Food Dehydrating

The page you
are reading now
is ONE of the most
IMPORTANT
pages on
Easy Food
Dehydrating

Why is that? Well, if you're interested in storing food for the long term, make sure to add oxygen absorbers inside your dehydrated vacuum-sealer bags BEFORE sealing them with your FoodSaver machine or (whichever brand of vacuum-sealer you purchased).


What is Inside an Oxygen Absorber and How Do They Work?

Oxygen absorbers are made of iron powder combined with salt. When exposed to oxygen, the iron oxidizes, effectively removing oxygen from the enclosed space. They are necessary for the following reasons:

  1. Slow oxidation - Oxygen accelerates food spoilage through oxidation reactions. Removing it drastically slows rancidity, mold growth, and insect infestations.
  2. Moisture regulation - Iron oxidizing creates a small amount of heat that helps remove moisture condensation, keeping food crisp. Less moisture also inhibits mold.
  3. Storage life extension - With both oxygen and moisture minimized by the absorbers, the shelf life of sealed dried foods like grains, beans, nuts, and snack items is extended several years longer than without.

While air tight containers alone help, adding oxygen absorbers provides an extra level of protection by actively targeting the main causes of food deterioration - oxygen and moisture.


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How to Grow and Dehydrate Herbs free eBook

How to Grow &
Dehydrate Herbs

Treat yourself today with my free eBook. Learn how to dry the top six herbs and make herb-infused oils and vinegars!

Click the book cover and that will take you to my secure download page and full deets.

It's my gift to you as a way of saying "thanks for stopping by!"

Pick up my Free eBook today!

How to Grow &
Dehydrate Herbs

How to Grow and Dehydrate Herbs free eBook

Treat yourself today with my free eBook. Learn how to dry the top six herbs and make herb-infused oils and vinegars!

Click the book cover and that will take you to my secure download page and full deets.

It's my gift to you as a way of saying "thanks for stopping by!"


Oxygen Absorbers for Dehydrated Food:
Life Support for Jars, Bags, Bins, and Buckets

Now that was a bit of a tongue-twister!

Remember: tuck a 100cc oxygen absorber inside the vacuum bag JUST BEFORE you vacuum seal it, or drop an oxygen absorber in the mason jar just before screwing on its lid.

If you're using a small (half-pint) jar, use a 50cc oxygen absorber. For quart-sized jars, use a 100cc oxygen absorber.

Why Use Oxygen Absorbers?

The Oxygen Absorbers protect dry foods from insect damage and extend the shelf life by preventing mold growth, which eliminates the need for commercial additives such as BHA, BHT, Sorbates, etc.

The oxygen absorber packets are non-toxic which is good to know as they are in direct contact with our dried foods!


Oxygen Absorbers at Amazon

50cc Oxygen Absorbers

  • PackFreshUSA Oxygen Absorbers
  • 200-Pack
  • Food-Grade, Non-Toxic

100cc Oxygen Absorbers

  • Oxy-Sorb Oxygen Absorbers
  • 100-Pack
  • Long-Term Food Storage Freshness Protection

300cc Oxygen Absorbers

  • Oxy-Sorb Oxygen Absorbers
  • Bags of 20 (60 Count total)
  • Super Effective for Dried Goods

2000cc Oxygen Absorbers

  • Oxy-Sorb Oxygen Absorbers
  • Pack of 10
  • I use these for airtight bins and buckets

* As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. The price you pay does not increase.


Pink Pill = GOOD

Blue/Purple Pill = BAD!

When the 100-pack of oxygen absorbers arrives, BEFORE OPENING IT or putting it away,
immediately check for the little pill in the bag.
It MUST BE PINK.
If it's BLUE/PURPLE...
that's not good.

Pink Pill = GOOD

Blue/Purple Pill = BAD!

When the 100-pack of oxygen absorbers arrives, BEFORE OPENING IT or putting it away, immediately check for the little pill in the bag.
It MUST BE PINK. If it's BLUE/PURPLE... that's not good.

• • • • •

The pill turns BLUE/PURPLE when the pill has absorbed oxygen, therefore telling you that the contents of the shipment are probably no good. So before you OPEN that shipped package, check for a pink pill. If it's blue/purple, return that shipment unopened for a replacement order!

Blue/Purple Pill
= NO GOOD!

The photo shows the pills that have turned from a very definite PINK to an almost blueish-purple color.

This indicates that the oxygen absorbers contained in the bag are highly likely "no good."

Blue/Purple Pill =
NO GOOD!

The photo shows the pills that have turned from a very definite PINK to an almost blueish-purple color.

This indicates that the oxygen absorbers contained in the bag are highly likely "no good."


Create 5 Bags - Each Containing 20 Oxygen Absorbers
(from a 100-pack) for Dehydrated Food Protection

If the pill is good, I'll open the new 100-pack bag, and take out 5 brand new quart-size vacuum-sealer bags. I then place 20 oxygen absorbers from the 100-pack bag into each of the quart-size vacuum-sealer bags and immediately vacuum seal them all.

The reason for splitting them up is we don’t want to open and seal the original big bag over and over just to take out one or two oxygen absorbers. Doing that would soon ruin all the other oxygen absorbers (by air infiltration) before we even get a chance to use them!

This means I now have FIVE quart-size bags with 20 oxygen absorber packs in each of them. The pink pill from the original bag can go into one of the five bags—no need to throw it away, we can reuse it until it turns purple!


Oxygen absorber packs with the pink pill - when resealing, cut DIRECTLY below the seal so there's still room to reseal it!

Cut Just Below the Old Seal

When I'm ready to use an oxygen absorber, I simply cut directly beneath the old seal at the top of the bag (shown as a dashed line at the top of the bag in the photo above). Cut where that white dashed line is. The actual bag's "top edge" is just beneath the black words "cut as close to the old seal" FYI.

Cut as straight as you can and as close to the old seal as you can—then I remove as many packets as I need and put them in the dehydrated food bags that are waiting to be vacuum sealed. Then reseal that package.

Because you're cutting off the top seal each time and then resealing at the top again, you will be moving farther down the bag, if you will. What I'm prattling on about is if you just just cut the bag willy-nilly, you're wasting the bag and resealing possibility. Heck, if there's a long way of describing an easy step, I'll find it! LOL

When that resealing job is done, you're good to carry on with vacuuming your dehydrated food goodies. Don't forget to add the dang oxygen absorber in the bag before vacuuming... (Yep, it happens).


100cc oxygen absorbers being re-vacuum sealed

Reseal Opened  Oxygen Absorber Bags Immediately  After Use

Re-vacuum and seal the bundled oxygen absorber bag (see photo above) after taking out what you need.

I can re-seal one of the oxygen absorber bags about four times... and if I've any remaining packets and the bag gets 'too short' to reseal, I'll put those remaining packets into a new bag and vacuum seal it!

Common Uses for Oxygen Absorbers in Home Kitchens

Oxygen absorbers are commonly used in at-home food storage and preservation for the following reasons:

  • Removes oxygen - They absorb any residual oxygen left in packaged containers, creating an anaerobic environment that inhibits food spoilage.
  • Prevents oxidation - Absorbing oxygen prevents oxidation that leads to loss of nutrients, color changes, rancidity, and growth of aerobic bacteria. This prolongs shelf life.
  • For dry foods - They prevent stale flavors, bugs, and rancidity in stored grains, beans, dried fruits, nuts, coffee, spices, and other dry goods.
  • In Mylar bags - Oxygen absorbers are often used in Mylar bags to remove oxygen when packaging bulk foods for long-term storage.
  • Dehydrated foods - They help retain nutrients and prevent oxidation in dehydrated fruits, vegetables, and meats.
  • Environmentally friendly - Oxygen absorbers reduce food waste by keeping home-preserved foods fresh for longer periods.

How Do You Know When Foods are Sufficiently Dehydrated?

Linda recently posted on our Facebook page with this question:

"Hi, I am dehydrating items for a backpacking trip. I have some rice with Alfredo sauce going and was wondering how you know when things are dehydrated enough. I don't want to make anyone sick with my food."

Hey Linda! Are you dehydrating the items separately, or as one whole meal? I hear you regarding not wanting to get sick! If you're dehydrating "as a whole meal", you'll need to keep your eye on the sauce's "dryness," and then you should be good to go. Why?

Well, as you can imagine, rice doesn't have/hold much water compared to a 'sauce.' When it comes time to vacuum-seal your rice and Alfredo sauce mix, make sure you add in an oxygen absorber so it can do its job.

Also, it's always a little 'touch and go' when drying two vastly different foods at the same time. If you're only going on a short trip, this method should work out fine for you.

Thanks for stopping by to learn about oxygen absorbers for dehydrated food usage and why there are different sizes. Questions? Write to me here.

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Susan Gast, founder of Easy Food Dehydrating

Hi, I'm Susan Gast, founder of Easy Food Dehydrating. My passion for dehydrating food began in 2010 while seeking crafty uses for abundant tomatoes. I've since devoted myself to elevating the art of removing moisture from fruits, vegetables, meats, and so much more!
JOIN ME as we unlock the magic of food preservation through dehydration together!
Read About Me here.

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