I’m looking for insight into the whole grain in oxygen versus no oxygen debate. There seems to be no question when it comes to powdered milk, potato pearls, etc., they store better with oxygen absorber packets; however, there seems to be some debate as to how best store whole grains.
The logic on the pro-oxygen side is that whole grains are living organisms that need oxygen to survive and removing this oxygen will lead to the grains’ death and quicker spoilage/nutrient loss. At a local food storage class they not only recommended leaving the oxygen in, they also recommended opening the buckets every few years and pouring the grains into a different bucket to re-oxygenate them. They suggest dealing with weevils via freezing to kill the weevils, but leave the grain alive. The support given is that to sprout grain it must be stored with oxygen (I can't confirm that), and that sproutable grain is somehow linked to nutrition.
On the non-oxygen side the logic seems to be that oxygen is what allows the bacteria and oxidation to occur which leads to quicker spoilage/nutrient loss.
The vast majority of the sites I have looked at (including provident living) seem to favor the non-oxygen approach, but I can see the logic in the pro-oxygen side. I’m currently storing my grain with oxygen in, but I’d like to get this figured out before I have a 1,200 pounds of spoiled 30-year-old wheat.
I’ll freely admit my own ignorance on the subject, so debating this isn’t really my goal (forgive me if I’ve misstated one side or the other). Preferably I’d like to see scientific studies if anyone knows of any, but personal experiences are useful too.
