Flour Bags are Useless!!

[HolidayHappy123]

Why in 2026 is flour still sold in useless bags that end up spilling everywhere and don’t keep out weevils and flour mites?

If there is a worse packaged product sold in supermarkets I can’t think what it might be except for scissors which are impossible to get out of their packaging without….scissors, but that is annoying in a different way.

Every time I use flour the stupid bags annoy me. Is it only me?

Do posh Mumsnetters decant into matching canisters for display in their carefully curated pantries? [Runs off to look at canisters on Amazon….].

HH123

I haven't rtft but I keep mine in the freezer. No more weevils ever.

I feel the message you meant to convey here was “eat more cake” 😉

I put the whole bag of sugar or flour (not decanted) into a strong clear plastic bag and clip seal.

Me too!! Everything is in lock and lock boxes (aka modern Tupperware) so they keep everything out.

You're supposed to freeze flour as soon as you buy it

SUPPOSED to? I agree it’s an option, but I doubt there’s any expectation. Entire civilisations have had flour as one of their basic foodstuffs, long before freezers were invented.

I have found weevils a couple of times and threw the flour away. I always check for them now, even when I open a new bag of flour. Encountering those wee buggers doesn’t half make you paranoid. I suppose I just need to make more cakes more quickly😅

I had flour mites or weevils in my self raising when I lived in a very very damp flat. Since then I’ve kept open bags in a lock and lock tub. I did hear that they are more likely in self raising.

My flour sits inside zip lock bags as soon as it arrives in the house.

Yes I do this. Just put the whole paper bag into a reusable tupperware pot. Keeps the packet clearly visible, I don't want any baking mix ups!

I have only had issues with flour beetles once in 40 years of baking. I chucked all the flour and washed all the containers and the cupboard and never had any more problems, but DMIL said you can stop them in the first place by putting the flour in the freezer for a couple of days. I never do this as I don't have a giant chest freezer like DMIL.

I like the paper flour bags. So much food is packaged in fucking plastic wrap that doesn't need to be. I changed dog food brand when then they changed from paper to plastic sack.

I don't want to buy plastic, and given the choice I will always buy products that aren't wrapped in plastic.

I would prefer more food to be in paper/cardboard and we just decant into reusable containers at home.

I couldn’t tell you OP and I don’t have time to ask the cook about what they get up to in the staff kitchen. If there has ever been an infestation of bugs , I wouldn’t know. They deal with this sort of things themselves without troubling me. That’s what they get paid for. I remember asking the cook to source organic bean flour from Tanzania a few years ago, because people were talking about this on a yacht I was on at the time and it sounded like the thing to have. I can’t think what use this flour is in practical terms though.

I would suggest a trip to the local working mill every time you need flour. Take the kids , feed the ducks, have a picnic, it could be a nice day out. Only buy the quantity you need on that day then you won’t have to worry about safe storage. Or send your housekeeper to the mill if you can’t be bothered to do it yourself?

Yes, making bread/cakes more often does entirely solve the problem 😋

I decant into plastic tubs but they’re not posh or on display?!!

In France sugar comes in genius plastic bags with a little screw lid in the top corner. Just unscrew and pour out what you need. No spillage. Doesn’t get damp or clump.

If we're talking about crap packaging can I also offer up dried fruit in supposedly resealable bags that split the entire length of the bag as soon as you snip off one corner and throw sultanas all over the inside of your cupboard?

I have a plastic flour bag sized Tupperware tub which I put the flour bag straight in. I only buy more when the current bag is about to run out so I don't stockpile. I wash and dry the tub out between bags. I wouldn't want flour to come in anything other than paper bags for recycling / environmental reasons.

When we lived abroad, and flour came in both plastic and paper.
Both had the possibility of weevils hatching in both them.
We stored new bags of flour in the freezer abd tried to bring them out as the old vag got close to the bottom (but, yes, you can successfully nake cake with flour straight from the freezer!)

I've never had an issue with weevils or flour mites (touch wood)! But I do use glass containers. They were v cheap from B&M.

Apologies if already mentioned, but I was also going to say about the fact the fold at the top of the bag also contains a sneaky amount of flour. You open the packet, and you inevitably make a mess on the worktop/floor 😞 (I’m quite proud of myself when I remember to open it over the sink; it feels like I have ‘one up’ on the bag 😁).

It’s all very well decanting in to something more suitable at home but what if the bag rips en route from the shop or as I had recently all over the rest of your online Lakeland order?! I like the environmental aspect of paper but don’t find it sturdy.

My bags of flour are popped into a large sandwich bag and tied off between uses. Means the residue just loiters in the bottom of the bag but is still "squishable" to cram into the cupboards.

Tubs take up too much space in my crammed kitchen.

The weevils don’t get in flour, they are in the flour, as eggs, from when you buy it. Use it up quickly or keep it in the freezer. I don’t find the paper bags annoying, I quite like them really.

I've kept the bags in boxes or tins, ever since we had mice get into the paper bags 😬

Another awful packaging is the thin plastic bags that our local healthfood shop uses for lentils etc. If you don't put them in another bag or box they tend to split, leaving lentils roaming all round the cupboard.

Please don't make manufacturers think they need to replace paper bags with MORE plastic

How long are you keeping flour if you’re getting weevils and flour mites?

I’ve never had a problem with flour bags.

I am not a posh MNer 😆 but yes, I decant dry goods like flour/lentils/ground almonds/sugars into airtight containers. I also freeze flour bags for 24 hours before decanting them. This is because we had a horrific flour weevil infestation about 4 years ago that gives me the heebie jeebies whenever I think about it. It was a massive PITA.