 Email this article to a friend  Printable Version FREE Email Newsletter
A new item has appeared in retail catalogs that promises to extend the life of your foods through vacuum technology. You place breads, fruits or other food items inside the container, close the lid, and a small pump works to remove the air from the chamber, thereby reducing the oxidation of the foods and extending their shelf life. This is how it's described, anyway. Real-world tests show the unit to be something very different (keep reading).
For this review, I purchased an "Auto Vacuum Food Fresh" machine and set it up on my kitchen counter. I placed some grapefruit inside the unit, plugged it into the wall and closed the lid to see what would happen. A small pump began operating, apparently removing air from inside the unit. After a minute or two, the pump stopped automatically and the lid was, indeed, somewhat sealed. To test the seal, I opened the lid and heard the sound of air rushing back into the container. This was an indication that some air had actually been removed by the pump.
The balloon testTo test the unit further, I partially inflated a small balloon then placed it inside the container with the grapefruit. Since the pressure of air inside the balloon is fixed at atmospheric pressure, once I closed the lid the balloon should have expanded as the air was removed from the chamber. In reality, I found that the size of the balloon hardly changed at all. This indicated that the air pressure inside the chamber was not much different from the air pressure outside the chamber. (My guess would be no more than a 10 - 15% drop in air pressure, but that's just a guess.)
Or, to put it another way, the chamber certainly was not a vacuum. A vacuum is, by definition, empty of everything (including air). But my simple balloon test revealed there was plenty of air inside the Auto Vacuum Food Fresh device. The pump, it seems, isn't very strong. Yes, it removes a little bit of air from inside, but nowhere near all of it. Certainly not enough to consider it a complete vacuum.
This made me wonder what the effect would be on storing foods. So I left the grapefruit inside the chamber and waited a few days.
You can read the rest of this review, complete with photographs showing the problems with the device, by visiting http://www.NaturalNews.com/PhotoTour...
This review is part of the NaturalNews "Phototours" feature that brings you photographic tours of interesting items. Another Phototour available right now shows you how to harvest aloe vera gel from a live aloe plant. To see it, visit: http://www.NaturalNews.com/PhotoTour...
NaturalNews will be publishing more Phototours in the weeks ahead.
Get articles like this delivered to you FREE in our popular email newsletter
|
(FREE) Thursday evening, Feb. 11 at 6pm Pacific (9pm Eastern), call in to hear the NaturalNews Talk Hour with our special guest John Roulac, Founder of Nutiva. This special show "Superfood Nutrition: Discover the NEWest Trends" will reveal delicious ways to enjoy life. Register via email to receive call-in details:
|
|
Explore NaturalPedia.com, the internet's largest natural health encyclopedia of knowledge, covering over 50,000 topics. It's free!
Visit NaturalPedia.com.
|
 NEW Product: Valley of Longevity Shampoo from the Health Ranger
• 98% Organic
• 100% Natural
• 100% Fragrance Free!
• No SLS
• No Parabens
• No synthetic chemicals
• FREE shipping in U.S. on orders over $75
Click here to read more...
|
 FREE Report: The Five Best Anti-Viral Products to Beat Influenza, Swine Flu, Bird Flu and SARS
• Top anti-viral remedies
• Where to get them now
• Four things to avoid
• Become self-reliant
• Boost your family safety
Click here to read the FREE report now.
|
|
|
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Email this article to a friend
Share this article on: 
