Consumer Reports
Two Products Promise Fresh Food
Publication Date: May 07, 2008
Article Excerpt
Two products promise fresh food
The claims. Press a button on the Reynolds Handi-Vac Sealer for about 10 seconds and it sucks the air from an attached bag of food, "virtually eliminating freezer burn," those unsightly (but not unsafe) dry patches that can afflict frozen food. The device costs about $10, the quart- or gallon-size bags you use with it cost 24 cents or 37 cents each, and it takes six AA batteries.
Quick Seals are plastic zip-slider tops with adhesive strips. Attach them to food boxes or bags to "seal in freshness." Cost: 20 cents per seal, and they aren't reusable.
The checks. We put steaks in bags sealed by the Handi-Vac; in bags sealed by the Tilia Food Saver, a $100 vacuum sealer; and in Glad, Ziploc, and Hefty zipper freezer bags.
We left all bags in a freezer for more than a month, speeding freezer burn by turning the freezer off for 3 hours each day. We attached Quick Seals to original bags or boxes of crackers, chips, and other snacks, placed the same snacks in Glad and Ziploc bags, and used a clip to close several bags of chips.We left all bags and boxes for five weeks.
CR's take. Both sealers were the real deal. Steaks bagged by the Handi-Vac were free of freezer burn. The Tilia also worked. Steaks in Glad and Ziploc bags had lots of ice crystals; steaks in Hefty had some. Quick Seals kept snacks' flavor and texture as fresh as in a newly opened bag or box. Clips worked equally well (though just on bags) and are reusable. Glad and Ziploc bags didn't keep food as fresh-tasting.
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