Questions about vacuum sealers

I don't know a lot about vacuum sealers, just a few questions please.

(1) Can you give me the name of a few good ones ?

(2) Are the bags freely available ?

(3) Approximate cost ?.
(4) Does the food need to be kept in freezer or bottom of fridge ? .
(5) How long will the food last in fridge or freezer ? .
(6) Can they be reused ?

Thank you.

Hi, williamthomas;

(1) Can you give me the name of a few good ones ? Commercial or home use? Manual or auto?

(2) Are the bags freely available ? Yes, 3 mil vacuum bags are relatively inexpensive  with good availability. 10k bags (more on this in attachment) do not share this wide spread use and are not as available.

(3) Approximate cost ?.  $50 to $50,000+
(4) Does the food need to be kept in freezer or bottom of fridge ? .There are very specific hazards associated with this process and stringent refrigeration requirements both in holding and transport. I have attached the guidance for the seafood industry, however the controls for pathogen and toxin should apply in most cases.
(5) How long will the food last in fridge or freezer ? . Unless using 10k I would not store vacuum sealed packages in a home refrigerator unless you can guarantee temperatures less than 37 deg F (3 deg C), or have other growth inhibitors or post process heat treatment. For frozen form this really depends on product and storage conditions.
(6) Can they be reused ? Can what be reused? Bags?  For home use yes, but given the low cost I find the effort hardly worth it.

C. Botulinum and Toxin Formation.pdf   888.07KB   7 downloads