If pets had their way, they’d raid the bags containing their kibble and help themselves to an all-day feast, every day. This is hardly a desirable scenario, as it leads to obesity and digestive upset, so take care to store food where pets can’t get at it while you’re not looking.

Dogs, by the way, are not the only ones guilty of raiding bags of kibble; hungry cats have also been known to apply their claws and teeth to almost-full bags – even those heavy-duty foil models! – and help themselves to heaps of between-meal snacks.

Most pet-food storage containers are made of plastic, which is porous (so their contents are not safe from bacteria) and easily gnawed open by a large, determined dog.

Pet-supply stores sell large clips to “reseal” opened bags of kibble – but these do nothing to prevent the contents from growing stale, or permitting the entry of hungry insects.

Happily, there are much better, more sanitary ways to store large bags of opened kibble.
If there’s room in your refrigerator, stick the opened bag of kibble in there. Or, decant the contents of the bag into glass food-storage jars. These are widely available at kitchen-supply stores and online, and they come in a variety of sizes and shapes, from round to square. Some have threaded metal lids, others close with a rubber washer that securely closes with a metal clamp.

If you’d like double protection – refrigeration plus a glass jar – investigate refrigerator glassware, widely available in nesting sets, complete with convenient plastic lids. Just don’t subject glass that isn’t made for refrigerator storage to your fridge’s chilly atmosphere, or it will crack and break, and you’ll have wasted all that kibble.

In the fridge or out, glass jars keep pets and bugs away from the food, and they look quite decorative just sitting there on your kitchen counter or shelf. The good habit of transferring kibble from the bag to the jar could even inspire you to be better about putting away flour, sugar, and other bagged food items!

Do you like the taste of plastic? Probably not. Many times, we use plastic bags to store our food, and the chemical taste of plastic leeches in to whatever we’re storing. If you want to prevent that taste from cropping up and ruining your lunch, follow this quick guide.

To begin, there are many things you can do to prevent the taste of plastic tainting your food. You should start by not leaving plastic bags in the sun. The hot sun slightly melts and weakens the plastic,while releasing chemicals in the process. These chemicals contaminate the food that was in the bag, are harmful in large quantities, and also do not taste nice.

If you absolutely have to keep your food stored in a plastic bag, then you should try to prevent the food from touching the plastic. Wrap whatever you’re storing in a paper towel or something similar. This works great for sandwiches, but isn’t ideal if you’re trying to wrap some tortilla chips.

One of the best alternatives to plastic is the paper bag. Both pollute the world, but the paper bag will eventually deteriorate. The paper bag also doesn’t leave a chemical taste on your food. If you want to store some tortilla chips, try storing them in a paper bag and not a plastic one.

If you don’t want to store your food in a paper bag, you can use a glass container. Glass is inert and won’t leave any chemical traces on the food that is stored inside it. Glass, however, is not very strong. It could be dangerous to bring a glass container on a long trip or to school, as it can break and hurt yourself or others.

Another wonderful alternative to plastic is a wooden container. Wood has been utilized by humans for a very long time, and thus has proved itself as a worthy container for food. Certain woods like cedar or maple may leave a woody taste in your food, but that’s much better than the chemical taste of plastic.

The great thing about wood is that it’s very sturdy. A wooden lunch box could last for a very long time if kept properly. Since it’s not easily breakable, many people have been bringing back the wooden lunch box. It’s slowly turning into an icon.

If wood isn’t your thing, you could check out a metal lunchbox. Metal lunchboxes are great for storing food, and are also stylish. There have been a few re-issues of this old style, and many people are embracing the metal lunch box because of it’s usability. Since it’s so lightweight, it makes a great food carrier.

You should take caution not to get your metal lunchbox wet. If its made of steel, it will probably rust. Chances are good that if you don’t like the taste of plastic, you won’t like the taste of rust, either.

Instead of getting a container, you can try wrapping your food in different papers. Wax paper and butcher paper have been used for centuries to wrap food, and they work just as good today as they did 100 years ago. Paper is also safer for you than plastic, and won’t leave any tastes on the food.

Now that you know how to avoid that plastic smell, you should try out these ideas. I fought the plastic monster for nearly 25 years, and finally beat it after thinking outside of the box and making the decision to move away from this impure substance. You can beat it, too, if you just stop using it.

In many states, especially in the South, food production and manufacturing is one of the top industries driving the economy. The United States is a huge supplier of the world’s food and as such spends a lot of time shipping food from state to state or country to country. As better and faster methods of shipping have developed, better and more secure packaging options have also become available. Because food must be protected from physical, chemical, and biological contact, the shipping of food products requires special attention.

Most food packaging comes in specific standard packaging types. One of these is called aseptic processing. This type of packaging might be used to ship and store fruit juice, gravy, or liquid whole eggs. The goal of aseptic processing is to transport sterile foods in a sterile package that maintains the quality and sterility of the product. Plastic trays are another type of food packaging. This type of packaging is usually used to ship things like meat, poultry, and fish. You probably see them every time you go to the grocery store and walk past the meat section. The most common type of packaging is obviously a box. There are many different shapes and sizes from cereal boxes to boxes of soda to boxes of tissue. Cans are another very common type of packaging. Cans are great for food that will be stored for long periods of time because they are air tight and extremely protective. Flexible packaging, things like bagged salads and frozen vegetables, is another type of protective packaging.

Food packaging should have several important functions. First and the most basic, it should physically protect the food from damage as a result of shock, vibration, or temperature. It should also employ a method for containment, especially if the product has several different kinds of small items within the primary packaging. Food packaging should also offer some kind of barrier protection from dust, water vapor, oxygen, or whatever it is designed for. If the product is designed for a long shelf life, the barrier protection should ensure that the contents can be stored for that period of time while still retaining their freshness and safety. Something that also retains safety should be any of the security features of the package. Most food products are designed with some type of tamper resistant or tamper-evident feature to inform consumers when a product has been opened or tampered with.

The products that keep our food safe have been developed with careful research and trial and error. Thanks to these developments, you can rest assured that the food you bought at the store is safe and fresh.