Long term storage of organic rice

I have a number of jute 20 lb bags of organic rice (Royal brand) that I purchased over the past couple of years.  They have been stored in the house under good conditions.  One of them indicates "Best used by 12/18".  Is it too late to put the rice in mylar bags with O2 removers?  What should be done?  Donate to food bank?  I can't eat it all up, that's for sure.

If it's white rice, definitely not too late. Make sure it's very dry, no moisture in the mylar. Takes a lot to make white rice go bad, and a year or two is not usually a problem, being stored with extra moisture is. Cook some and taste it, if it's tastes fine, then bag it up. I'll be surprised if it tastes bad.

If it's brown rice, that's trickier, the oils go rancid, or so I'm told, I have never experienced that, but I store it well. They say 6 months for brown rice storage, I think I'm currently eating 5 year old brown rice. if it's brown, again, cook and taste it, if it's ok, try storing it, you have little to lose. But be aware that the infamous "they" say 6 months for brown rice.

And if you don't usually eat much rice, make sure you put it into SMALL mylar bags, so you can take out just one at a time and have a few meals worth, leaving the rest stored properly.

How did you know I was just researching this topic last night?    My concern even in my pantry for short-term storage, aside from moisture, is getting rid of weevils and any other wormy and mothy things in in my nuts and grains and flour.   I experimented yesterday with heating the rice per instructions in the link below, and then steamed it as usual for dinner.   I was a little afraid it would render the grains too dead to fluff up but it came out fine.   I wonder if that also would extend the life by removing some of the moisture before mylar bagging.   Not sure how you could do that easily with your 50-pound bags.

https://hortnews.extension.iastate.edu/rice-weevil-and-granary-weevil

Susan Pruitt wrote: My concern even in my pantry for short-term storage, aside from moisture, is getting rid of weevils and any other wormy and mothy things in in my nuts and grains and flour.   I experimented yesterday with heating the rice per instructions in the link below, and then steamed it as usual for dinner.   I was a little afraid it would render the grains too dead to fluff up but it came out fine.   I wonder if that also would extend the life by removing some of the moisture before mylar bagging.   Not sure how you could do that easily with your 50-pound bags.

He has 20 pound bags. But yeah, if you have bugs either heating OR freezing them helps. Heating it also drives out excess moisture before sealing it up if it's too damp. I have eaten rice after toasting it in the oven and then cooking it, but if you are looking for the taste of plain white rice, that's not it (I think it's much better, I find plain white rice very boring.) If you want a different flavor, try it! It's a good way to get a new taste out of your stored food. Think Rice a Roni...

Freezing also kills the bugs and their eggs, and a lot of folks just store their grains in the freezer. I don't ever have enough freezer space for that. I have a busy freezer, and I buy 50 pound bags of a lot of items. If you have a lot of problems, consider storing your grains nuts etc in a freezer, might be worth buying one just for that if you have a lot of issues.

A lot of the problem with bugs is the eggs are in the grains when you buy them, so they hatch when they can. I rarely have issues, BUT take that with a grain of salt, because I moved from New Mexico, and my stuff was VERY dry when packed down, not much can live in that climate. I'm in Missouri now, and may be singing a different tune at some point I store my grains/beans/flours packed down so there is as little air spaces as possible, and that can be a lot of work. A 50 pound bag of flour packs down HARD with a stomping tool (like a wooden masher type thing) to 7 one gallon glass jars, with almost no air in them. I add bay leaves at the bottom, middle and top of the containers, and seal them TIGHT. The more airtight you store anything, the less bugs you seem to end up with. Things like rice that you can't stomp that hard will have airspace, even if packed well, still pack it down as tightly as you can, add bay leaves all through it, and airtight seal it well (O2 absorbers and mylar is good for that.)

On the amusing side of all of this, my chicken feed got buggy, the chickens consider that a bonus

Susan Pruitt wrote:How did you know I was just researching this topic last night?    My concern even in my pantry for short-term storage, aside from moisture, is getting rid of weevils and any other wormy and mothy things in in my nuts and grains and flour.   I experimented yesterday with heating the rice per instructions in the link below, and then steamed it as usual for dinner.   I was a little afraid it would render the grains too dead to fluff up but it came out fine.   I wonder if that also would extend the life by removing some of the moisture before mylar bagging.   Not sure how you could do that easily with your 50-pound bags.

https://hortnews.extension.iastate.edu/rice-weevil-and-granary-weevil

If you are going to seal it up in mylar the oxygen absorber will kill any insects and prevent the eggs from hatching. I believe freezing only kills live insects, not the eggs (which can hatch later).

Rice stores very well as long as is is kept dry. Doesn't seem to matter if it's white, brown, organic, non organic, red, black, or even wild rice. I normally store it in 5 gallon water jugs & mason jars. Have some in vacuum seal bags. I eat it all beyond the 5 year mark & it's perfect rice. Just keep it dry.

So how hot to kill moth eggs? I'm in GA so putting something in the van when I go to town would make it very hot. Also is food grade DE a good option? If so, how much is safe? I rinse rice, but what about flour? Thanks y'all!

The usual suggestion for killing insects in rice & flour is to freeze it for a few days. That's what I do & have never had a problem with it.

I'm not sure how or why, but a couple whole bay leaves added for each 5lbs or so of grain seems to help with the bug issues, too.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts! When it comes to buying organic rice, I always make it a point to choose products with a "best consume by" date that’s well into the future. Additionally, I stick to trusted organic brown rice brands, like Nature’s Glory, to ensure the rice is certified and genuinely organic. This approach helps guarantee freshness and quality over time. That said, I’m mindful about minimizing waste, so I make sure to consume any rice I have, even if it’s nearing its expiration date. Proper storage also plays a key role in maintaining its quality for as long as possible.