Is Vacuum Sealing Food Safe?

Posted in Food Safety,Our Blog on June 22, 2026

Buying meats and produce in bulk when there is a great deal is a huge way to cut the grocery budget. We love doing this, especially with meat being so costly. Today we examine the idea of vacuum sealing and wonder is vacuum sealing food safe?

But First, What Exactly Is Vacuum Sealing?

At its very foundation, vacuum sealing is the act of removing oxygen from bags or containers, creating an airtight seal that protects food from freezer burn and bacteria growth. By limiting exposure to oxygen, which causes spoilage, vacuum sealing helps extend your food’s shelf life, be it vegetables in the crisper drawer, snacks in the pantry, or proteins in the freezer.

Advantages of Vacuum Sealing | Air Out. Freshness In.

There are many benefits of vacuum sealing and each home cook will probably have different reasons for doing so—here are some of the main advantages:

• Save Food: As mentioned above, food waste is a common (and preventable!) problem. Vacuum sealing is one of the easiest ways to preserve food, both uncooked ingredients to prepare later or cooked meals for enjoying in the future. By limiting exposure to air and preventing freezer burn, vacuum sealing helps food maintain its peak taste and texture. It’s also great when you’re craving a seasonal item—your future self will be thankful to find vacuum sealed summer berries or peaches come winter.
• Save Money: Buying in bulk is an easy way to stretch your dollars, but in order to make this budget-minded shopping work, you need a way to keep highly perishable items from, well, perishing. Enter the vacuum sealer, which can preserve portions you aren’t using right away, including pantry staples like flour and sugar or snacks such as nuts and crackers. Bulk buying also means fewer trips to the grocery store, which means less money spent on transportation as well.
• Save Time: As most busy home cooks know, meal prepping is a true time-saver. For those who batch cook, vacuum sealing can save your pancakes, roasts, and even soups for upcoming meals. You can also marinate quickly using a vacuum sealer, a feature that will come in especially handy on days when you forget to do it in advance, and easily prep food for sous vide cooking.

What Foods Can I Vacuum Seal?

The list of foods that can be vacuum sealed goes on and on. Bread? Check. Steak? Check. Wine? Check. Rather than go through the exhaustive lineup of items that can be vacuum sealed, it’s far easier to share what can’t: soft cheese, bananas, mushrooms, whole apples, raw onions and garlic, cabbages and lettuce, and freshly cooked veggies—once they’re cooled.

Two other things to keep in mind: Some vegetables, like cucumbers and potatoes, don’t retain their texture well after defrosting so they aren’t ideal for sealing and freezing, and avoid putting hot food immediately in the fridge as it can increase the temperature inside.

How Long Does Vacuum Sealed Food Last?

Timing differs from item to item, but vacuum sealing with a FoodSaver® machine can keep food fresh up to 5x longer when compared to ordinary storage methods. This applies to products that go into your freezer, fridge, or pantry. For example, when vacuum sealed, beef and poultry can be frozen for up to three years, hard cheese can keep for up to eight months in the fridge, and baking essentials such as flour and sugar are good for up to two years.

Be sure after using your vacuum sealer especially for meat that you clean the liquid tray appropriately because it can harbor bacteria which can make you very sick.

So that about covers it. It looks like as long as you have the proper materials, machine and the right foods that it is safe to use a vacuum sealer to prolong the shelf life of many things.

For more food safety information please follow Make Food Safe.