Chemical-free food storage is one of the areas that I prioritize myself. I take quite a lot of care in the food that I serve for myself and my family and give organic matter a high priority. So the storage of the food afterwards is of course also of great importance.
At home, we primarily store leftover food, cold cuts, etc. in glass buckets – see my blog post about this here.
In addition, I am a big fan of reducing the consumption of freezer bags, tinfoil, cling film etc. and replace it with sustainable and chemical-free alternatives that can do the same and of course can be recycled. Because the consumption of plastic is enormous and plastic is difficult to break down in nature. It eventually also enters our drinking water and is absorbed into the food chain through fish. So here are 3 good tips to minimize the consumption of plastic and other disposable packaging in everyday life, and at the same time also minimize the chemistry in your everyday life:
Minimize the use of freezer bags and Vita Wrap
Freezer bags are a good and regulated choice for food storage when necessary. And Vita Wrap has also become that, if you choose the one made of polyethylene – and that's most of it today, but think about whether it's really necessary.
Because there are plenty of good alternatives. For example small bags in organic cotton for fruit, vegetables or other things, or small buckets in glass or stainless steel. You can also wrap your cheese or cut fruit in Bee's Wrap. There are many possibilities – see our selection here.
Avoid using tinfoil
Tinfoil, aluminum foil or silver foil as such do not release unpleasant substances into your food, unless the food is very acidic or fatty (so salmon and lemon in silver foil and then on the grill can make a super bad cocktail). But Staniol is extremely harmful to the environment in all production processes and also when you subsequently throw it in the bin. So there are many good reasons to save on disposable packaging. See possibly more about tinfoil and the combination with acidic and fatty foods at Tænk Kemi here.
Do not use garbage bags for food storage
It is so obvious to just take one of the large garbage bags or shopping bags for the bread, the apples from the apple tree or other food items that take up a lot of space. I've done it countless times myself in the past. But garbage bags are produced to store garbage in and not food, and unfortunately shopping bags are not suitable for food either. Unwanted chemistry can spill over into your delicious apples or freshly baked bread. So instead use large freezer bags designed to contain food or even better: organic cotton bread bags or a large Bee's Wrap. The latter two are 100% plastic and chemical free and can be reused countless times.
When you buy freezer bags and other disposable packaging, look for the knife and fork logo, which shows that the product is approved for being in close contact with food.