Vacuum Food Sealer Review

Owners tell it like it is with vacuum food sealers

Vacuum food sealers help prevent waste by extending the usable life of vegetables, produce, meat, nuts and cheeses, among other perishable foods. They remove oxygen, which speeds food's deterioration, and they prevent ice crystals from forming on food. Ice crystal formation can cause food to dry out, discolor and lose flavor -- the hallmarks of "freezer burn." Food sealers allow consumers to buy food in bulk, then divide and vacuum-seal it themselves, saving money.

We were surprised to find so few reviews for vacuum food sealers. The best review we read, which appeared in a 2008 issue of Good Housekeeping, covers only four vacuum sealers. We were impressed with the magazine's clever use of moisture-sensing beads to determine whether sealed, frozen bags of hamburger and chicken breasts remained airtight over time. We found a vacuum sealer review in Fine Cooking magazine, but unfortunately, it covers just two inexpensive, battery-powered models. Two separate reviews at About.com offer hands-on testing of two popular vacuum food sealers. Consumer Reports has taken a pretty cursory look at sealers, and Cook's Illustrated -- perhaps the most reliable cookware-review source -- has tested only food-storage containers, not vacuum sealers.

Facing a lack of expert review data, we turned to the dozens of owner reviews at Amazon.com, Cooking.com and Epinions.com. Unlike expert reviewers, consumers can comment on a vacuum food sealers' performance over time, noting whether sealing gaskets loosen or containers crack, and whether features such as bag sensors are useful or irritating.

Some vacuum sealers earn low performance grades in candid owner reviews. The PackMate 95000 Vacu-Seal (*Est. $25), which runs on six AA batteries, earns so-so ratings at Amazon.com. While owners like the heavy-duty, dishwasher-safe bags, some say that sealed bags don't remain airtight, and the bags are expensive at about a dollar each (for a one-gallon bag).

At Amazon.com, the Rival VS107 Seal-a-Meal (*Est. $50) receives mixed reviews from more than 20 owners. While some say it works well as long as the instructions are carefully followed and bags aren't overfilled, others complain of temperamental or defective Seal-a-Meal machines. They also claim that Rival doesn't stand behind its products.

Another sealer, the Deni 1830S Turbo II (*Est. $50), also earns below-average reviews at Amazon.com. Owners pan the weak vacuum, which doesn't remove all the air from the bags. One says you'd be better off using plastic zip bags.

The cute, compact Oliso Frisper FF-550 Freshkeeper (*Est. $63) has not been professionally reviewed, but it earns decidedly mixed reviews from nearly 20 owners at Amazon.com. In contrast to other freestanding sealers, the Frisper punctures zip bags in order to remove air, then heat-seals the hole. This means that you can easily open and re-seal the zip bags. Some owners say that this lightweight, egg-shaped sealer works fairly well. But others gripe that the vacuum is underpowered and doesn't seal tightly enough. And Frisper's proprietary bags aren't cheap (*est. $15 for 20 quart-size bags or 14 gallon-size bags).