If you own your own food manufacturing facility and have decided to start creating more large scale orders for restaurants, schools, and other types of businesses, then you will undoubtedly need to purchase your own supplied in bulk. If one of these supplied is basmati rice wholesale, then you will need to learn how to store the rice properly. Improperly stored rice can go stale quite quickly and it can also develop mold and the presence of weevils as well. To avoid these sorts of things, keep reading to learn about some tips to help you with your storage needs.

Buy Food Grade Buckets

If you have ever seen employees at your local grocery store or pizza place using large plastic buckets to store and serve food out of, then you are probably quite familiar with food grade buckets. Food grade buckets are ones that are made from high-density polyethylene plastic. The buckets will be marked with an HDPE and a recycling number two. This specific type of plastic is formed from molecules that are stable and packed together. This keeps the plastic from degrading and releasing harmful substances into the stored food. 

Food grade buckets are typically quite strong and are able to hold a great deal of weight. The buckets are often white, but they can be identified fairly easily based on their markings. You want to look for a marking that says "food safe" as well. There are some other types of materials that are used to make food safe buckets like polyethylene terephthalate (PETE), polypropylene (PP), and low-density polyethylene (LDPE). However, HDPE containers are the most common.

Purchasing new food safe buckets is a good choice to make sure that non-food items were never stored inside them. You can purchase the buckets from your local home store or you can pick some up at your nearest restaurant retailer. You should always wash the buckets thoroughly before using them, regardless of where they are purchased. Dish soap and water should be used both inside and outside the buckets as well as the lids. Dry the buckets thoroughly before storing rice inside or mold spores may begin to develop.

Use Oxygen Absorbers

There are several things that can cause issues if you need to store food long-term. One of these things is leaving the food exposed to the air. Specifically, the oxygen in the air will interact with the food. This causes it to oxidize and break down. Also, oxygen is required for certain types of bacteria to decompose food. Pests, like weevils, need oxygen to survive as well.

Keeping oxygen out of long-term storage containers is almost completely impossible, even if lids are tightened securely. However, a tight lid is a good start to keeping new oxygenated air from entering the buckets. Make sure lids snap down tight before you secure the food long-term. 

You also want to purchase some oxygen absorbers. These are small and sealed packets of iron powder that absorb the oxygen and reduce the concentration of the gas to a very low level. The level can reach as low as .01%. You can and should place the absorbers directly into the buckets with the rice. While a smaller packet will work for a shoebox sized container, the larger buckets will need several of the packets. Make sure to secure them in the buckets and replace the absorbers every time you open the bucket. 

You may also want to add some desiccant packets to the buckets too in case any moisture enters the container. One or two of these packets are typically more than enough if the bucket and the rice is already dry at the time of storage. 

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