Using vacumn pouches as retort bags to 'can' food in.

[creuzerm]

I have been playing with my seal-a-meal half the day today.
I was looking at the bags, and they say microwave and simmering safe.

I was wondering, what if I vacuum sealed food inside a bag, and then ran it through a pressure canner for the correct time to 'can' that food item? Keeping the bag away from the metal sides, it's just a high temperature simmer. The surface of microwaved foods get very hot. I can't see that the melting point of the bag would be that close to 212 degrees that we can't boil the bag at 240.

I am not thinking for long term storage, just a weekend or a week. Basically, a way to backpack food for camping  and not have to worry about breaking a mason jar.

I wonder what would happen if you made up a batch of biltong, then sealed it up, then 'canned' it. It in theory would be able to last about forever then. Too dry for the nasties to take hold, protected from the outside environment (waterproof), and all the nasties are killed off anyhow.

This maybe even an idea for if the power goes out, fire up the canner on an alternate fuel source, and 'can' all the vacuum sealed items in the freezer. All your meats, veggies, etc. would then be rescued from rotting in the thawed out freezer. Might be a bit odd to cook with afterwards, being all cooked like already.

Has anybody tried this? Know of any links that say that this is a dumb or good idea?

[spartan]

I vote NO on this idea.  The danger of food borne illness or contamination is too great.    Primarily, there is no published data on using these kinds of products for this solution. Home and industrial canning are well studied processes going back to the Napoleonic era.  Food saver bags are nothing like the industrial multi-layer bags used in retort cooking, designed for high heat, pressure, and multiple freeze/thaw cycles.

I can also find no information on home retort cooking.  Everything is industrial level with serious equipment.

[Jack Crabb]

I got to go with Spartan on this.  Additionally, a lot of the food in pouches that needs no refrigeration, etc. is also irradiated, which is not a home-based project unless you live near Chernobyl or maybe some parts of Nevada.

What about putting the food in pouches and freezing it.  For backpacking purposes, you put the frozen pouches in the pack and plan for them to be thawed by the end of the day or so.