Version 3.0 Updated September, 1998 Supersedes version 2.5 Differences, Changes and Additions to PRUDENT FOOD STORAGE: Questions & Answers From the House at Cat's Green Alan T. Hagan Currently published to sites on the World Wide Web around the globe. ********* SPECIAL NOTE ***** SPECIAL NOTE ***** SPECIAL NOTE ********* This Version 3.0 update of the Prudent Food Storage FAQ includes a first time event. An increasing number of people have been asking for a printed and bound copy of the FAQ, apparently as a response to the Year 2000 computer problem and other Millennial concerns. With the aid of my partner, Bob Hollingsworth, we have formatted, printed and bound Version 3.0 to honor these requests. Naturally, since we have spent a good deal of our time and a not inconsiderable amount of our cash in doing this we are not giving it away for free, but are charging $15.00 (US) per copy plus $3.00 shipping and handling (US Postal Service Priority Mail). My postal address may be found at the end of this file, or you may e-mail me. This print edition will be available for only for a limited time. The reason for this is that I am presently at work on "The Prudent Pantry: Your Guide to Building A Food Insurance Program", my first commercial work. When completed it will contain all of the content of this FAQ plus a good deal more that I don't presently cover such as storage program planning, inventory control, storage locations, the best foods to store, grain mills & other equipment, water storage and purification along with expedient sanitation. At this time I am not ready to give either a firm publication date or cover price for *The Prudent Pantry*, but I am hoping for early spring of 1999. When it is ready to go to press I will stop printing bound FAQ copies. Due to the ever growing size of the work (presently over 300k) I can no longer post the FAQ to the Usenet. I will, of course, continue to make the FAQ updates available online via host sites on the World Wide Web even after the book hits the street. CARPE DIEM! ********* SPECIAL NOTE ***** SPECIAL NOTE ***** SPECIAL NOTE ********** VERSION 3.00 Major revision from Version 2.5 #1. Added a section on the use of Mylar bags. #2. Revised food date section and added substantial new text concerning deciphering dating codes of some product lines. #3. Added shelf life chart for a number of common storage foods. #4. Updated the suppliers section, dropping the defunct businesses and adding a number of new ones. New suppliers of oxygen absorbers, desiccants, Mylar bags and can sealers have been added. #5. Made technical changes and corrections to the section on determining moisture contents of foods. #6. Substantially revised and expanded storage containers section, particularly what is and is not suitable for food use. #7. Revised inert gas section (dry ice and compressed gasses), including the use of carbon dioxide for fumigation and the use of vacuum processes in packaging. #8. Revised oxygen absorber section, with important new information added. #9. Substantially expanded the Resources section for new information sites, books and software. #10. Expanded the section on the use of desiccants in food packaging. New desiccants have been added and greater technical detail. #11. Greatly expanded the sections on LDS Family Canneries and how best to go about using one. #12. Numerous minor corrections and additions throughout the entire body of the FAQ. #13. Added section on the reuse or recycling of used storage containers. #14. The FAQ is now posted only to World Wide Web sites due to space limitations. I would have to break it up into nine volumes to ensure that all files would make it across newsgroup servers and that is just too unwieldy. VERSION 2.50 Major revision from Version 2.0 #1. Straightened out Table of Contents and Section/sub-section labeling differences as well as cleaning up the Acknowledgements. #2. Broke the Usenet posting into five volumes from the previous version release of four volumes. The web site edition is posted as a single file. #3. Added detailed text concerning use of compressed gas in food storage. #4. Made various text revisions and clarifications to make the FAQ more understandable for readers outside the U.S. Some of the changes are in Corn, Sugar, Syrups, Fats and Oats. #5. Added section concerning use of Family Canneries belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the Mormons) by non-Mormons (gentiles) in Section IV.A.2.A Storage Containers. #6. Corrected error in "use by" dating in Section I Shelf Lives. #7. Moved II.A.4 Storing Grains and Legumes to new location, Section IV.B 1. Dry Ice 2. Compressed Nitrogen and CO2 #8. Moved desiccant information from Section II.A.4 to Section IV.D 1. What is a desiccant? 2. Where do I find desiccants? 3. How do I use desiccants? #9. Put in a paragraph concerning the Specific Equipment Questions subsection for more complete information dealing with storing dry milks. #10. Section IV Specific Equipment Questions. Struck the paragraph asserting that all #2 HDPE plastic is food safe. My earlier information may not have been correct. #11. Revised the fats subsection. Added text on extending shelf life of cooking oils through use of BHT. Section II.E.2 #12. Moved shelf lives of some common storage foods and dating codes used by some food manufacturers out of appendices and made them a new Section V. The appendices were Section VI before. Moved food and equipment suppliers out of appendices and combined them with the old Section V Other Sources and made them new Section VI. #13. Put in new address for Countryside and Small Stock Journal. #14. Updated and corrected the addresses in suppliers subsection. Added a number of new ones. #15. Added paragraph concerning raw sugar in the sugar subsection. #16. Added a line to the Important Note in the diatomaceous earth section concerning reading the label to be certain nothing potentially harmful has been added to the DE. #17. Updated and revised section on kosher salt, rock salt and halite. #18. Broke down and added detail to the oxygen absorbers, desiccant and diatomaceous earth sections. #19. Categorized suppliers list by types. #20. Added an information and software sources to resources section. #21. Numerous corrections in spelling, grammar, formatting and some minor factual content. VERSION 2.10 No change or addition to content. Volume One was much too long and caused problems with some servers. For this reason I broke it up so that the FAQ is now comprised of FOUR volumes instead of THREE. VERSION 2.00 Major revision from Version 1.0. 1. The original section one with nutrition and menu planning has been dropped. The references I have been relying upon now seem to be outdated and I need to do a lot more research before I attempt to give nutritional advice. 2. The original section two has been broken into three sections now labled as: Section One: How Do I Store The Foods I've Chosen? Section Two: How Do I Keep It From Going Bad? Section Three: What Equipment Do I Need? Where Can I Find Equipment and Supplies? At 3100 lines the original was just too large and cumbersome to be easily worked with and some people complained their servers were killing the file without them being able to see it. In the not-too-distant future I'll probably have to break it down to five sections as I flesh out some of the other thinly detailed areas of the work. 3. Revised Section One:II.A.4.4 concerning use of O2 absorbers in packaging grains and legumes. 4. Added a cautionary note in Section Three:IV.C Oxygen Absorbers concerning the partial vacuum created inside of storage containers by oxygen absorption packets when used without flushing with inert gas. 5. Added a post from Geri Guidetti in Section Three:VI.B Dating Codes Used By Some Food Manufacturers. Also included something from the same post by her on shelf lives of food. 6. Added an appendix in Section Three:VI.C Food and Equipment Suppliers. It's a big list with even more suppliers waiting to be found. Eventually I think it will be made into a section of its own. Included is a short piece on what you should know and need to ask when ordering from mail order suppliers. 7. Added entries in Section One:II.Y.Baking soda Section One:II.Y Herbs and Spices Section One:II.Y.Vinegar Section One:II.Y.Yeast 8. Corrected an error concerning moisture percentages in popcorn and the order of desirability of the various forms oats in Section One:II.A.1 9. Changed my e-mail address to athagan@sprintmail.com. Please make any necessary changes. The old address is still good, but anything sent to it will be delayed in being received and/or answered. 10. Numerous minor style and editing changes. VERSION 1.01 Essentially just a repost of Version 1.00 with about the only difference being a correction of the spelling of Leslie Basel's name (sorry about that Leslie). VERSION 1.00 Original post. ======================================================================= Comments, orders, questions, suggestions, submissions, etc may be sent to the e-mail address below: athagan@sprintmail.com Postal address: A.T. Hagan P.O. Box 140008 Gainesville, Fl 32614-0008