Smell Proof Mylar Bags: All You Need to Know

Storing food products properly is really important whether you are running a store or using food at home. Many people are habitual of purchasing food in bulk, not because they are scared of food shortage, but since they are working people, they barely get time to cook meals every day.

Whether it's everyday food or cannabis that you need to store in your dispensary for the customers, the initial storage method will be the same. Both the cannabis and other food storage items should be kept away from moisture and light in smell-proof bags that can keep them safe and fresh for years. If you are in search of such a storage bag, get your hands on smell-proof mylar bags.

What are Smell Proof Mylar Bags?

Mylar bags are used for a wide range of applications in daily life. It has its use in the kitchen, mostly where people like to utilize mylar bags for long-term food storage. This material called mylar was first produced by the company DuPont, which holds the trademark "Mylar".

Biaxially-oriented polyethylene terephthalate is a film that was initially made by DuPont. Due to its smell-proof property, electrical insulation, transparency, and chemical stability, it became really popular among the masses. The bags made out of this material gained more popularity than the film. Since the bag can be used for storage purposes, they are more in demand. Many food companies and dispensaries opt for mylar bags to keep the food fresh for a long time. 

The smell-proof property of these bags is one reason why they have their applications in food storage. A fresh aroma is an indication of fresh food. Since mylar bags are best at keeping the aroma inside the bag, they are popular in food storage.

How are Mylar Bags Made?

Mylar bags are made with the aim of keeping their tensile strength high. The process of mylar making begins with thrusting a film of molten polyethylene terephthalate on a chill roll. This results in the film turning into its amorphous state. Later on, drawing makes the mylar biaxially oriented.

This makes a fine mylar bag that is smell proof and airproof. Any type of food product can be kept in it, but make sure not to store moist food items in the bag. This will do more harm than good. The products should always be dried prior to storing in mylar bags.

Is Mylar a Kind of Metal?

Mylar itself is transparent. Then how come the bags we use for storage are shiny? This is due to metal coating. The actual material is free from metals and is completely transparent. Usually, these bags are coated with foil, which makes the mylar reflective.

When mylar is coated with a layer of aluminum foil, it is termed an aluminized mylar. This results in a shiny metallic appearance. Metal coating on plastic films is really advantageous; it makes the film even stronger and makes its barrier properties better.

Using such a mylar bag is really cost-effective and much stronger than most other storage materials. Since it is chemically stable, mylar has so many applications in different fields.

Why Do We Need Smell Proof Mylar Bags?

The presence of moisture in the food and the continuous supply of oxygen favors the growth of molds in the food items. In the presence of moisture and oxygen, food can never be stored for a long time. It will become stale or will promote mold growth. The food can be spoiled with germs that change the taste and smell of stored food. Eating such spoiled food can lead to many problems like vomiting, diarrhea, etc.

To prevent food from getting spoiled, people in the past used to dry and ferment the food before storing it. The idea is to keep it away from oxygen and moisture. Resultantly, food stays fresh for a longer time.

The purpose of mylar bags is the same; preventing the food from moisture, light, and oxygen. Since these bags are opaque, they block the light and prevent it from entering the bag. As light is responsible for degrading many chemicals, it can damage food. Blocking the light increases the lifespan of stored items. Moreover, smell-proof mylar bags act as a barrier that keeps the aroma of fresh food inside. As the aroma doesn't leave the bag, you will feel the food fresh even after storing it for months.

Though companies don't use mylar bags much because there are much better storage options like sterilization, fast, frozen, and adding preservatives, mylar bags are usually used by common people, especially the ones who are busy working all day long and cannot find time to cook meals three times a day. These people get food in bulk from the supermarket and store it by keeping it in mylar bags.

Mylar Bags can Store:

You can use these bags to store wheat, cereals, coffee, nuts, chips, and grains of all kinds. Normally, the storage time for these products is somewhere between six months to one year. You will be astonished to know that the lifespan of cereals, grains, and other food items can be extended to 5 years if they are kept away from light, moisture, and oxygen. This is exactly what you can do with smell-proof mylar bags - store food for a long time.

Are Smell Proof Mylar Bags Printed?

Mylar bags are usually plain with a shiny metallic surface. But there are bags with cool designs, depending on what you plan on storing. Grains and nuts companies usually love to sell their products this way. These smell-proof bags are resealable and airtight. 

As the cannabis business is progressing day by day, we see more brands entering the market every day. These business owners sell cannabis products in mylar bags as it is the best solution for storing cannabis. Mylar bags keep the cannabis products safe for very long and are cheap at the same time. Bags made of food-grade mylar material are perfect for storing cannabis.

Brands love to get the mylar bags customized to maintain the quality food and keep the aroma fresh even after years of storing it.

Different Types of Mylar Bags

Mylar bags have already won our hearts for being sturdy, smell-proof, opaque, and non-porous. To make food storage even easier, they are available in five different types. Let us see the details of each one of them.

  1. Flat Bottom Bags: These bags are ideal for storing items that are used daily. These bags come in rectangular or square shapes. If you don't want to keep the mylar bags in any container, it is recommended to get these flat bottom mylar bags. 
  1. Vista Mylar Bags: These mylar bags have an opaque backside, while their front is completely transparent. This allows you to see the condition of food inside. Though vista mylar bags protect the odor and flavor of food, they cannot protect it from light as the front side is completely transparent.
  1. Vacuum Bags: The presence of an extra layer inside these bags make them unique from the rest. This layer helps in removing the air and thus creating a vacuum. For using these bags, you need to have oxygen absorbers or vacuum machines. The overall environment created inside these bags is best for long-term storage.
  1. Stand-Up Bags: These mylar bags have the same use as those flat bottom bags.

The only difference is that flat bottom bags come in square or rectangular shapes, while stand-up bags can come in oval, round, square, or any such shape.

  1. Child Proof Mylar Bags: The addition of an extra locking mechanism like vacuum sealing or ziplock makes the bags more secure. Childproof bags are just standard mylar bags with extra safety to protect the stored items from the reach of children. Those wishing to store cannabis in mylar bags and at the same time protect it from children can go for child-proof mylar bags.

Mylar Bags vs. Vacuum Sealing - Which is Best for Weed Storage?

Mylar bags are the best option for food storage than the standard vacuum bags due to so many reasons. These are some of the properties that make mylar the best choice.

Sturdy

Mylar bags are so strong and sturdy that moths and other insects cannot make their way through them. On the contrary, plastic bags can be easily chewed by moths. However, you need to understand that mylar is protective against insects only; you cannot keep rodents from chewing it.

Opaque

Mylar bags are opaque that block light, and don't let it degrade the food. At the same time, plastic bags cannot prevent food from degradation by harmful UV light.

No Air, No Moisture

On sealing a mylar bag completely, there is no chance that oxygen or moisture could make its way inside. Plastic bags do prevent air from getting inside initially. But as time passes, it loses its efficacy and allows the air to pass through it.

It is also essential to note that adding oxygen absorbers inside the mylar bags extracts oxygen from the inside of food. In contrast, vacuum sealing removes oxygen from the surroundings only.

This is why mylar bags are ideal for long-term food storage as they absorb oxygen efficiently from the food and don't allow it to get back inside. Vacuum sealing bags are good for storing moist food or those that you want to store for a short time only.

Though there are so many choices for storing food, people still prefer to store it in mylar bags because food stays fresh in it for a long time.

How to Store Food Products in Smell Proof Mylar Bags?

Remember that along with sizes; mylar bags are available in different thicknesses as well. Pick a mylar bag of your choice. Here we will consider a large bag for storing grains. You need to follow these steps:

  • Place the bag in a bucket. Since it will be a large mylar bag, placing it in a bucket will make the filling easier. Fill the bag with grains you want to store. Make sure you do not store anything that has a lot of moisture or oil in it naturally. If you want to store things like brown rice, find another storage method, as they will get stale in mylar bags quickly.
  • Once you have filled the bag with grains, place a packet of oxygen absorber in it.

Oxygen absorbers usually come with a pack of mylar bags, so finding them won't be a task.

  • Now fold the mylar bag from its top to one side and heat seal it using an iron. A hair straightener would do the perfect job in this case. Firstly, try to get the most air out of the bag. You don't have to be anxious about taking all the oxygen out as the oxygen absorbers are there to do the job. After that, seal the bag with iron. Look for any leaks; if you find any, reseal them.
  • The oxygen absorbers will take roughly 24 hours or more to do the job with perfection. Now you can place the sealed bag in any container; just make sure it is far from light.

In Conclusion

Smell-proof mylar bags are just the perfect choice for people looking for a permanent solution for storing their food products. Since they are available in a variety of sizes and types, you can get any of these according to your needs. If you want to store something like cannabis at home, child-proof mylar bags should be your choice as they have extra sealing, which protects the food inside even if the children reach it.

Moreover, these mylar bags are available in different prints. You can easily customize one for your own brand. Store the cannabis in smell-proof mylar bags and keep your cannabis fresh and potent even after years of storing it.