Welcome to the Ultimate Food Storage Glossary, the most extensive food storage glossary on the internet… in the making! Please let us know which words we should add, this glossary and preparedness acronym page is a work in progress and over time will become the best preparedness dictionary and wiki page around!
– A –
– Absorber (02): An oxygen absorber is most often small packet included in food packaging to extend shelf life of food. Used in food packaging to prevent oils in foods from becoming rancid or to keep bacteria from growing. After use main gases in the food’s packaging is nitrogen which does not have a negative impact on food spoilage.
– Ameriqual: a leading manufacturer of military rations (MREs). Also produce a citizen approved product that is commonly found online at preparedness resellers.
– B –
– Bacteria, as it relates to food storage can be lead to food spoilage. Bacteria can break down food. While the bacteria itself may or may not be harmful, the waste products can often be result in poor tasting food and of course can lead to harming one’s health. Removing oxygen, light, and humidity will help most foods store for long periods of time.
– Bridgford: as it relates to the preparedness industry they are a manufacturer of military rations. Popular for their MRE sandwiches the Bridgford Ready to Eat Sandwiches have up to a 5 year shelf life if store properly.
– Bug Out Bag (BOB): A portable supply of items a person would need to survive for a short period of time when evacuating of a shelter is necessary. Similar terms are 72 hour kit, Go Bag, or GOOD (Get Out of Dodge) Bag.
– C –
– Can (#10 Can): INSERT
– Canning: INSERT
– D –
– Dehydrated food: INSERT
– Desiccant, also known as a ADD
– E –
– Emergency kit: INSERT
– Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP)
– F –
Freeze-dried: also known as lyophilisation, lyophilization, or cryodesiccation, is a dehydration process typically used to preserve a perishable material or make the material more convenient for transport. With regards to freeze-drting food it is used to preserve food, the resulting product being very lightweight.
– Fire starter: INSERT
– First In First Out (FIFO), an accounting term that applies to rotating food as well. Products added to the rotation first should be the first products that are consumed. Opposite from FILO, which is first in last out.
– G –
– Gamma lid: a popular… ADD MORE
– H –
– HALT, an acronym for Humidity, Air, Light, Temperature. Refers to the biggest environmental considerations for ideal long term food storage. The less food is exposed to any of the of these attributes, the longer it will stay in good shape.
– I –
IQF, or Individually Quick Freezing, is the… ADD MORE
– J –
ADD
– K –
ADD
– L –
ADD
– M –
– Mason jars: reusable glass jars with a two piece, airtight lid. Used to can and preserve food. Also can be used to store extra oxygen absorbers once they’ve been removed from their original packaging.
– MIL, a mil is a unit of measurement used to describe thickness. Used for food grade buckets and/or mylar bags. Not to be confused with millimeter (mm) a mil is the equivalent of one thousandths of an inch. 1 mil = .001 inch. The plural form of a mil is mils. Most common sizes of food grade buckets are 70 or 90 mils while metalized mylar bags are typically around 4.3 – 5 mils.
– MRE:
– Mylar, a brand that popularized the metalized food storage bag. These bags come in many sizes and is most often combined with an O2 absorber to remove residual oxygen levels. The can-like metal layers make it ideal for a bagging material for long term storage of foods.
– N –
ADD
– O –
One (1) Year Food Supply: A popular duration goal for saving up food and water reserves. Typically planned for a stop gap while the person will set up more long term sustainable food gathering means.
– P –
ADD
– Q –
ADD
– R –
ADD
– S –
– Sanitation: INSERT
– Survival Equipment: INSERT
– Shelf life, INSERT
– Shelf stable, from a perspective of long term food storage, a shelf-stable food is a food that stores from 12 months or more without any type of refrigeration. Some examples of shelf-stable foods include bulk whole foods, canned goods, freeze-dried foods, dehydrated foods, etc.
– SHTF or Sh%* Hits The Fan, is the… ADD MORE
– T –
– TEOTWAWKI or The End of The World as We Know It. Term referring to a catastrophic event that would affect everyday life as you know it, necessitating preparedness and self reliance skills to survive.
– U –
ADD
– V –
ADD
– W –
– Water storage: INSERT
– Water filtration: INSERT
– Water purification: INSERT
– Water desalination: INSERT
– Water treatment: INSERT
– Water containers: INSERT
– X –
ADD
– Y –
ADD
– Z –
ADD
– Miscellaneous –
– 72-Hour Kit: See Bug Out Bag above
