Oxygen Absorbers...There's now moisture in my jars

[homeschoolshe]

AHHHHHHHHHHH... I opened my package of 20 oxygen absorbers and proceded to put them in my buckets of oatmeal and my jars of dehydrated foods. I popped the rest of them in a jar by themselves and now the empty jar is all foggy, I opened it back up and ran my finger along the jar and it's wet! It was a dry jar, because it was smaller, so I dumped one of my dried items into a larger jar..... What do I do, is it going to ruin my dehydrated food?????????

 

 

[Mt_Rider]

Um....... First, clarify that you ARE talking about oxygen absorbers rather than moisture absorbers. Right?

 

 

I dehydrate a lot but I've only used MOISTURE absorbers...so I don't know what to expect from oxygen absorbers in dehydrated foods.

 

Another question: Was it a very humid midwest day when you did this? Cuz the air in the jar would have had the same high humidity.....

 

 

OK...above my pay-grade in science here.... Anyone else figure this out?

 

 

Once sealed, you don't really want to waste the O2 absorbers by opening your sealed containers but....neither do you want a nightmare when you need those preps. So I'd definitely open and check at least one of your dehydrated containers. If that shows moisture, open them all and get them dry again. You don't want dehydrated stuff to be exposed to moisture for very long at all You can rehydrate if it hasn't been long. [Violet might know more specifically how long would have you into danger from molds, etc]

 

If you have humidity problems, use the silica gel MOISTURE absorbers in your containers for dehydrated goods. I even use it here in very low humidity Colorado.

 

 

As for oatmeal....wait til someone else with experience answers this. Hopefully others will know why this happened.

 

MtRider [....hope your stuff is ok ]

[TurtleMama]

Let us know how everythng else is doing...

 

that your preps are not ruined.

[Mt_Rider]

I hope someone else notices this question.......

 

 

 

BUMP

 

MtRider [..yes, HSshe. What did you end up doing and what did you find? ]

[homeschoolshe]

"There are two types of oxygen absorbers used for the storage of Food, "B" absorbers and "D" absorbers. The "B" absorbers require moisture from the food they are packed with to perform their action. A good example would be beef jerky or dehydrated fruit that hasn't been dried until it is brittle. The "D" absorbers contain their own moisture and are better suited for dry pack canning because there isn't enough moisture in correctly dried food to activate the "D" absorbers."

 

The above information came from this website. https://www.usaemergencysupply.com/information_center/packing_your_own_food_storage/oxygen_absorbers.htm

 

So, apparently the moisture came from the oxygen absorbers themselves. So I probably wasn't supposed to sit there and watch the jar....... . The only jar I saw do it was the one with 12 oxygen absorbers in it. So maybe 12 is too much for a pint jar! LOL. I did take them immediately back out of my dehydrated foods....Just in case. I left it in my buckets of oatmeal. The one in the ice cream bucket has keep the middle of the lid pushed down where I pushed it down when I put it on. So it much be working.

 

I just didn't want to take any chances with the food I dehydrated.. . All that work! So I don't know what to do. I want to extend my shelf life, but don't want to ruin anything either.

 

My best guess is that the chemical reaction is what caused the moisture. A 300cc absorber should be fine in a quart jar. If there was any moisture my food would have absorbed it, but it shouldn't be enough (as I probably over-dry all too often) to cause spoilage. The 3600ccs combined is too much for a pint jar, thus the condensation inside the jar. They are only there to save them for further use, and they did seal the jar. The moisture disappear after several minutes. About the time I took them out of most all the rest and quit panicing!

 

 

Sorry about posting and leaving before. I can't seem to consistantly type on my kindle, which is what I use daily for internet use. I usually only have the big computer on when I'm working and then only if I have orders or items to list, or prayer requests to get out for church. ( I have an Etsy shop and my sewing machine is right by the computer! so I may be on for hours then just hitting the "new content button" so on the days I comment off and on all day....that is what is going on! )

[homeschoolshe]

FYI, I also found information stating that you should never use a moisture absorber and an oxygen absorber in the same container.....Unpleasant chemical reaction. I didn't read further, just noted the "do not".

[Mt_Rider]

I've never heard of 2 types of O2 absorbers...... I'm confused.

 

 

MtRider

[CrabGrassAcres]

I have purchased dehydrated foods from a food storage supply house that had both O2 absorbers and moisture absorbers in the containers. I don't know why you can't use both.

 

(Really need to order another bucket of dried onions soon.)