Nowadays, the concept of an efficient and convenient lifestyle is deeply rooted in people’s minds. Handheld vacuum and vacuum sealer paired with plastic valve bags have quickly gained popularity due to their excellent freshness-preserving ability, becoming the top choice for many to store fruits and vegetables. However, during use, many people fall into confusion: clearly, the vacuum was just created, but the bag inflates after a short while, its airtightness drops sharply, and it even looks like it’s “leaking air”—leaving people puzzled. In fact, this is by no means a quality issue with the equipment or the bag, nor an abnormal malfunction. Instead, it’s a normal phenomenon where fresh fruits and vegetables, as “living plants”, continuously release gases—a point that many people overlook.

Fresh fruits and vegetables do not stop their life activities the moment they are picked. They still undergo continuous “respiration” just like they did in the fields. During this process, they constantly consume oxygen and release carbon dioxide; some produce (such as apples and bananas) also secrete ethylene gas, which accelerates their ripening. When we seal them with a handheld vacuum sealer and a plastic valve bag, the oxygen inside the bag decreases significantly at first. But the gases released by the produce do not disappear—instead, they accumulate continuously in the airtight space. As more and more gas accumulates, the pressure inside the bag gradually exceeds the external pressure, causing the bag to inflate and look like it’s “leaking air”. If the gas pressure is too high, it may even slightly push open the sealed edge of the bag mouth, further intensifying the visual effect of “air leakage”. However, this is essentially the result of the normal physiological activities of plants, not a failure of the seal.

To properly deal with this normal phenomenon, the key lies in “adapting to the law of plant respiration” plus “strengthening the seal’s pressure resistance”. Here are three practical methods that can be put into use directly:

1. Pretreatment to reduce respiration intensity:

Give the fruits and vegetables simple treatment before sealing. For example, pluck off the yellowed and rotten leaves of leafy greens, and wash and dry root vegetables like carrots and potatoes to reduce additional metabolism caused by impurities. For vegetables with particularly vigorous respiration, such as broccoli and asparagus, blanch them in boiling water for 10-20 seconds (known as “blanching”), then take them out and cool them with cold water before draining. High temperature can temporarily inhibit the activity of respiratory enzymes in the produce, reducing gas release from the source and slowing down the pressure increase inside the bag.

2. Choose the right valve bag to reduce “pressure impact”:

Prioritize thickened plastic valve bags labeled “puncture-resistant and high-airtightness”. The sealing strips of these bags have stronger toughness, which can better withstand the pressure generated by gas accumulation and avoid being easily pushed into gaps. Never use old bags that have been reused and have tiny cracks on the sealed edges—these small cracks will expand under gas pressure, making the “air leakage” look more obvious and shortening the freshness-preserving time.

3. Gradual air release to balance internal bag pressure:

Check the condition of the bag frequently within 24 hours after sealing. Once obvious inflation is found, gently open the air release port of the valve bag to let out some accumulated gas, then use the vacuum sealer to re-seal it. By “gradual air release” to actively balance the pressure inside the bag, you can not only solve the problem of “the bag inflating like it’s leaking air” but also maintain the sealed state for a longer time, extending the freshness period of the fruits and vegetables.

Many people think that the seal has failed, or even doubt the product quality, when they see the bag inflate. In fact, this is due to insufficient understanding of “produce still undergoing respiration”. Understanding that this is a normal physiological phenomenon of plants and using the right methods to deal with it will allow the cordless vacuum sealer and plastic valve bags to truly play their role, eliminating anxiety about “false air leakage”.