How to Use Drawstring Bags and Ziplock Bags

I recently wrote quite broadly about food safety in the home kitchen at. The topic is so important and necessary that it's worth revisiting with additional topics.

Plastic bags with drawstrings and Ziplock bags (with a "zipper" closure) are among the best ways to store food. As we know, plastic is harmful, but for many reasons, completely eliminating plastic from the kitchen is impossible and impractical. However, it's essential to reduce plastic usage and waste as much as possible, especially when it's cost-effective, such as when reusing plastic items multiple times.

This practice is not new. I remember from my childhood reusing jars from purchased jams or vegetables, tea or cookie boxes repurposed as spice containers. Recycling was not a problem a few decades ago. This was generally the case throughout human history when society was too poor to waste anything.

Drawstring bags, due to their closure mechanism, are one of the most convenient ways to store food and maintain freshness. Can you reuse these bags? Yes, with some caveats.

Firstly, when purchasing, you should check if the bags are intended for food contact, refrigeration, and freezing.

Secondly, bags that have stored meat or fish or bags containing spoiled or moldy food should not be reused.

Drawstring bags are excellent for storing dry and loose goods, sweets, nuts, fruits, vegetables, and legumes. You can also use them for freezing. They are particularly suitable for products that should be kept dry, such as the oat cookies from this recipe: http://rudekitchen.pl/ciastka-dyniowe.

Bags used for such products can be reused. They should be thoroughly cleaned to remove any food residues. Ziplock, the company that owns the patent for the special plastic bag closure, recommends washing the bags by pouring water with detergent and, optionally, a bactericidal agent inside the bag. Seal the bag and shake it with the water inside. Rinse thoroughly and leave it to dry.

This is not an advertisement (though it could be), so I won't claim that Ziploc is the best, but generally, bags with Ziplock-type closures, known as Zipper bags in Germany, are a much better choice in the kitchen than typical drawstring bags, especially when you need larger quantities than 1 gram. They are also more convenient and easier to handle, usually of better quality than drawstring bags, and often more expensive.

For single-use purposes, if you need to portion small quantities (not necessarily just 1 gram), such as during a Tibetan Buddhist puja or tsok ceremony where food is offered, or when I had to prepare 60 sandwich portions for a children's outing in catering. Spices were often available in such small bags (at least in 2019).

For spices, the seal of the bag is particularly important, and after some time, the drawstring bag may no longer fulfill its function. So, spices sold in drawstring bags are fine, but if you don't use them quickly, transfer them to an airtight container.

Small glass jars are good, but glass in the kitchen always poses a food safety risk. Small, airtight, reusable plastic containers designed for food contact are definitely the best choice.

It's important for bags (and plastic for food contact in general) to be in good condition, not worn or torn, to minimize the risk of consuming microplastics. In home conditions, the storage time is too short for microplastics to penetrate food, but it's still worth being cautious. We already know that microplastics are dangerous to health.

Microplastics may indirectly contribute to depression by affecting gut microbiota. Water and all beverages sold in stores likely contain microplastics. However, we still don't fully understand the health effects of microplastics.

This is a completely new threat (also to food safety) that has emerged due to human activity, including my industry, and not just in small households.

Can we and should we eliminate the use of plastic and waste production in the kitchen? No. If someone does that, they create a food safety hazard. There are situations where disposable items are the only way to guarantee cleanliness.

Can we and should we maximize the reduction of plastic use and waste production in the kitchen? Yes, three times yes. When it comes to a modern, sustainable kitchen, reducing resource consumption and waste production is as important as the taste and aroma of the served meal.

All of this can be facilitated by cleaning products, so remember to ventilate as there's always a lot of mess there.

Here again, there's a place for drawstring and Ziplock bags in which you can store food items before cleaning the kitchen. If you use these bags for freezing, remember to label the bag with what and when it was frozen. A few hours after placing them in the freezer, move them to the back, following the "first in, first out" principle.

Don't worry if you don't strictly adhere to all of these cleanliness and food safety procedures. A home kitchen is not a public dining establishment, and at worst, you'll only poison yourself and your family. But every point you follow and every food safety procedure you implement (as daunting as it may sound) means less health risk and less wasted food.

Contaminated or spoiled food always leads to food waste. So, on a simple daily level, such practices ultimately mean spending less money, better health, and better food. I wish this for both you and your readers.

Did you like this text? Do you want more similar ones? Support my blog