Off The Grid News Better Ideas For Off The Grid Living
Dear Editor,
What is going on with Honeyville, Walton Feed and the likes of these online stores halting production of whole powdered eggs? This is what I have found online:
Note: As of mid-November our supplier “Honeyville Grain” is currently not shipping egg products. The USDA is inspecting all companies who ship dehydrated eggs and are requiring them to have their products recertified. The shipping department at “Honeyville Grain” has told us it will likely be 3-4 weeks before these eggs will be available again. We will add their items back to the website when they are once again available for ordering.
As of mid-November our supplier “Rainy Day Foods” has resumed shipping egg products as they have completed the USDA recertification process. The only containers that they will now carry are the #2.5 cans, the #10 cans and the 50lb box. They no longer offer eggs in a Super Pail “SP” or Regular Bucket “RB” or in Mylar bags.
This has been ongoing since mid-November? How are we supposed to get ready without eggs?
Disgruntled
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Dear Disgruntled,
It appears that the USDA updated their inspection and certification process and now has everyone jumping through hoops. According to Honeyville’s blog, they had been given the all-clear and had product on the trucks, ready for shipment, when the government said they put them through the wrong process and that they’d have to start from scratch with recertification. Government at its best! Just remember, if push comes to shove, you can always get a chicken or two to supply you with eggs! (Even you city dwellers! See our article on Urban Chickens!)
The Editor
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Dear Editor,
We usually have a pretty good size garden and we are trying to be more self sustaining and also healthier in the process. I recently received a dehydrator as a gift and have a vacuum sealer (food saver) that also came with the attachment that allows you to seal jars (as if you were processing for canning). The jar sealer says that it extends shelf life of items such as dry powders, sugar, dry goods and then can reseal things like jars of pickles and peanut butter. My question is if I were to combine both appliances by dehydrating several types of vegetables and fruit and then storing them in a cool dark place in glass mason jars that have been sealer by the food saver – what kind of shelf life am I looking at? I dehydrated potatoes not too long ago and immediately stored them in vacuum sealed food saver paper. So far they seem to be holding up fine but I am still unsure how long they will be good. We have small children and the last thing I want to do is make them sick in the process of trying to get them to eat healthier, natural food choices.
RW
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Dear RW,
We’ve got the article you need in this week’s edition of the newsletter! However, your method of vacuum sealing the jars will give you an even longer shelf life with your dried foods. If your vacuum sealed jar’s lid center has not popped up while in storage (indicating bacterial action inside the jar), your food should be fine. However, due diligence would suggest that you smell and taste anything before giving it to the kids! J With all canned goods, we recommend a yearly rotation of stock.
The Editor
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