Step one - use quality materials
Use quality materials in the production of granola. There is no short cut to this. If the rolled oats, nuts, dried fruits, puffed rice, and other ingredients commonly used in the making of granola are low quality, stale, or are prone to rot in the climate where the customers are - granola will have a short shelf life. Use of low quality ingredients may affect the taste; and these effects are not positive in the long run. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the primary authority in the United States that is entrusted with testing food products and certifying if they are ready to be sold. The use of FDA materials can increase the shelf-life of granola.
Step two - keep it hygienic
The use of high quality ingredients alone is not sufficient to give a long life to your granola. The machines that you use in the production process also have an effect on the shelf life of granola. FDA approved production processes in a strict hygienic environment make high quality granola with a long shelf life.
Step three - use high quality, food grade packaging
The third but occasionally overlooked factor in the making of granola is its packaging. A good packaging protects granola from a range of environmental and physical hazards. It protects food from moisture, dirt, ultraviolet rays, and germs. Therefore it is important to use high quality packaging. You can try pouch bags to package the dry mix since they are tough and puncture resistant.
StandUpPouches.net makes stand up pouches for food packaging. Made from FDA approved materials, these pouches are safe to package food products, including granola. They are made from multiple layers of plastic and other materials. Together these layers create - within certain limits - an impenetrable barrier against environmental and human causes than can spoil the dry mix. These pouches are puncture resistant. They can be made to provide protection against UV rays through the use of special materials.
An often overlooked aspect of packaging is the ink used in printing. StandUpPouches.net uses rotogravure printing on its custom printed stand up pouches. The ink we use is specially chosen so that it does not react with granola in any way. Coupled with a strong barrier, this use of inert inks prolongs the shelf life of granola.