By long term, I mean purchasing the items in bulk, and storing them for several years in your pantry? Then you should always use food grade plastics to put up your food storage. Most common are the food grade five gallon plastic buckets.

Never, ever store your food, even in a food grade plastic container on a bare dirt, or cement floor. Despite the buckets being plastic, there IS still air and moisture exchange.

Most people do not realize that even though a food product is in plastic that there IS still an exchange of air and moisture with the outside air (even in food grade containers). The only way to prevent this is to use food grade mylar bags and seal your food items before placing them into the food grade plastic buckets, and sealing the buckets.

Nuts will only keep 1-2 years, no matter how well you seal them. The oils found in nuts cause them to start going rancid. Coffee and tea also have short shelf lives of 6months-2 years. However you said “powder.” If your coffee and tea has been freeze dried and turned into powder they will store virtually forever.

Always use food grade plastic containers for any type of food storage. You have much less worry though, with dry foods leaching in anything bad from the plastics though.

I’ve had a one gallon plastic container of chilli power sitting properly stored in my pantry for just over six years. I just opened it, smells and tastes as good as anything just purchased.

~Garnet
Permaculture homesteading/farming over 20 years

Any food, dry, wet, cooked, uncooked, can have contamination problems by coming into contact with various unsafe materials. It’s always best to store them in containers that are held up to high scrutiny, and safety standards.

Jennifer Long