Resource Stability of SN and N

[Endisclose]

I ordered SN recently but I don't plan to use it now (stupid decision, I know). It'll be in a plastic bottle thingy. If I unseal it for testing will I be able to use it in june 2026?

I am not sure that's a good idea. SN oxidises in an accelerated manner when exposed to air. The vaccum seal on the bottle keeps the air and moisture out and it can stay fresh and potent for a long time if stored properly in a dry, non humid environment.

Breaking the seal would let air and moisture ingress into the bottle converting the SN to sodium nitrate rendering it unsuitable for said purpose. I think it's generally a good idea to test just before CTB at least that's what I am planning to do.

Or test on an extra spare that one may have ordered. Once the seal is broken it might be good enough for just 3 months and probably not advisable to be relied on after that period.

 

[Endisclose]

My SN is 5 years old in its original unopened airtight box. Is it still good you reckon?

I think it should be, as per the research I've done. Could you test it and let us know the results on this thread when you open it? It would be very useful to a lot of people on this forum am sure.

I am keenly interested as my SN would be about 4 years old by the time I am planning to use it. Mine is in a hdpe container with a factory made vacuum seal. I've placed it in an airtight lock n lock container for further protection. If yours is similar, there is a high chance it could still be good.

The expiry date on my SN is 5 years from the date of manufacture. That means the contents are guaranteed to be within assay specifications (mine is 98.4% pure) within that period by the manufacturer. That doesn't mean that the assay will drop overnight beyond that period.

As per my research if stored well, SN could last twice the shelf life, or maybe even much longer than that - possibly even 15 to 20 years if stored properly of course..as mentioned in the discussion in the link below.

Sciencemadness Discussion Board - Nitrite shelf life - Powered by XMB 1.9.11

 

[Hiro Uchiha]

I think it should be, as per the research I've done. Could you test it and let us know the results on this thread when you open it? It would be very useful to a lot of people on this forum am sure.

I am keenly interested as my SN would be about 4 years old by the time I am planning to use it. Mine is in a hdpe container with a factory made vacuum seal. I've placed it in an airtight lock n lock container for further protection. If yours is similar, there is a high chance it could still be good.

The expiry date on my SN is 5 years from the date of manufacture. That means the contents are guaranteed to be within assay specifications (mine is 98.4% pure) within that period by the manufacturer. That doesn't mean that the assay will drop overnight beyond that period.

As per my research if stored well, SN could last twice the shelf life, or maybe even much longer than that - possibly even 15 to 20 years if stored properly of course.

Sciencemadness Discussion Board - Nitrite shelf life - Powered by XMB 1.9.11

Correct. Proper containment is the determining factor. Deterioration of sn is usually associated with prolonged exposure to vapor+warmer temp. If it's within airtight container, the salt will remain it's purity and viability for years.

 

[Steve Vermont]

I just received SN in a sealed plastic bag. It's not even vacuum sealed: there's air in it.

I am thinking of taking it out, putting it into gel capsules, then tossing those into a plastic vaccum-sealable bag with some gel dessicant packets and then sealing that. Do you think this will work to keep it storeable, long term?

 

[Hiro Uchiha]

I just received SN in a sealed plastic bag. It's not even vacuum sealed: there's air in it.

I am thinking of taking it out, putting it into gel capsules, then tossing those into a plastic vaccum-sealable bag with some gel dessicant packets and then sealing that. Do you think this will work to keep it storeable, long term?

I think it could work especially if your salt is very dry beforehand. However, I'm not exactly sure about the gel capsules. Depending on what kind, they can degrade rather faster than the SN you put in them.

 

[Steve Vermont]

Perhaps. However, since it's all going to be vaccum-sealed, at least the SN should remain potent, right?

 

[Hiro Uchiha]

Perhaps. However, since it's all going to be vaccum-sealed, at least the SN should remain potent, right?

Yes, in theory, that set up should keep your SN viable for a long time.

 

[Steve Vermont]

I was planning on doing this with my OLD SN, but given that this stuff came in a bag with air inside it. Take a look at these and see what y'all think is the most secure. To me, it's the one on the left. It's two years old. The black one is about four years old. The new stuff is on the right. It came in a sealed thick plastic bag and I triple-bagged it to be safe.

It's the stuff on the right that I think it's best to put in capsules and vacuum-store.

(Shit, I have enough SN here to kill an elephant. It's cheap and I think that soon they're going to make it unavailable to casual buyers, so I keep buying a new supply every other year or so.)

 

[Hiro Uchiha]

I was planning on doing this with my OLD SN, but given that this stuff came in a bag with air inside it. Take a look at these and see what y'all think is the most secure. To me, it's the one on the left. It's two years old. The black one is about four years old. The new stuff is on the right. It came in a sealed thick plastic bag and I triple-bagged it to be safe.

It's the stuff on the right that I think it's best to put in capsules and vacuum-store.

(Shit, I have enough SN here to kill an elephant. It's cheap and I think that soon they're going to make it unavailable to casual buyers, so I keep buying a new supply every other year or so.)

View attachment 182452

You got enough sodium nitrite to cure beef from around 75 cattles
Yes, I'd trust the bottled SN more compared to the one that came in a plastic bag in terms of security. Better use the bagged SN for capsule storage (if you really want to).

 

[Steve Vermont]

You got enough sodium nitrite to cure beef from around 75 cattles
Yes, I'd trust the bottled SN more compared to the one that came in a plastic bag in terms of security. Better use the bagged SN for capsule storage (if you really want to).

Well, what else am I going to do with it? :D

I think it might help ease me a little. Like cutting. Taking steps which won't be fatal but which COULD be, maybe.

 

[wishingonstars]

If I received SN in a doypack that had a bit of air in it would it be better for storage to leave sealed or to open press the air out and close it back up with the resealable zipper thing?

 

[Steve Vermont]

I dunno. I mean, I repacked mine and vaccum-sealed the result twice. But I have no idea how much exposure to air might have affected it.

 

[CPY]

The only SN source in my country sells it in a non-sealed plastic envelope.Last time I checked it was almost hardened whilst when I first bought it was mostly soft, is it still reliable? Should I buy another one and put it in some kind of container what type of container do you recommend to keep it reliable for at least 5 years?

 

[Macedonian1987]

My SN came in a similar bottle like the one shown on the photo (The 100g one). On the bottle it has a retest date: June 2029. As a precaution I put it in 2 vacuum sealed plastic bags and I put it in a dark place. When I shake it, it feels like most of the SN is clumped into a one big chunk. I hope this is normal, and that my SN hasn't gone bad. I never opened the bottle. It's still sealed.

 

[Steve Vermont]

My sealed SN is similar. After taking the stuff out of the baggie and messing around with it, it seems to me that it would clump easily, even without moisture. It's got a kind of… hard to describe it… greasy texture to it? Not actually greasy, but moist-looking without being moist, if you catch my drift. It seems that it would clump easily.

I repackaged my bagged SN into loose SN in vaccuum sealed packs and gel capsules, likewise in vaccuum sealed packs. So we'll see what happens to it, long term.

I can already say that repackaging it in gel capsules is a no starter: the SN has gone distinctly yellow. At first I thought it might be due to leakage, but then I realized that gel capsules have a large water content and SN is very hydrophilic. My hypothesis is that the SN sucked the moisture out of the gel capsules and thus became contaminated. I will wait to around Christmans to unpack them and see what happened. If my hypothesis is correct, the capsules should be dry and incredibly brittle by that time.

I'll post the results here.

In the meantime, if you're going to encapsulate your SN for easier ingestion, do it right before taking it. Even two weeks after I encapsulated mine, the SN has become visibly contaminated.

 

[IwantHappiness]

Hi,
I need some help with a question about the long-term stability of sodium nitrite.

In April 2025 I purchased SN online. The product was manufactured by a reputable company that produces many other chemical powders, so I consider the source highly reliable and the quality of the SN good. The SN arrived in an opaque white plastic container with a tamper-evident safety seal — the kind that shows clearly whether someone has opened the container before.

Because the manufacturer is serious and well-known, I assumed that keeping the SN in its original container would be an adequate storing method. I also assumed that the safety seal implied the container was airtight. Now I'm starting to question that assumption.

In the thread I will attach a photo of the container, so you can see exactly what type of packaging my SN is stored in.

I have noticed that several users here store their sodium nitrite containers inside additional zip-lock plastic bags, or even place the whole container inside a larger airtight box. I never did this, because I always thought: what would be the point? If the manufacturer sells SN in this container, it should logically be suitable for preventing degradation into nitrate. Otherwise, the company would lose credibility, and customers would complain.

But now I'm starting to doubt. Why should I put plastic bags around the SN container, or place it inside an airtight container? This product was sold by a serious chemical supplier — not by someone inexperienced. Why would they choose packaging that cannot prevent the SN from degrading into nitrate? The container itself even states that the product has a 3-year shelf life from the production date.

I'd really appreciate your insights on this. I need to understand whether my storage method is sufficient or if I should improve it.

Thanks in advance

 

[Endisclose]

Hi,
I need some help with a question about the long-term stability of sodium nitrite.

In April 2025 I purchased SN online. The product was manufactured by a reputable company that produces many other chemical powders, so I consider the source highly reliable and the quality of the SN good. The SN arrived in an opaque white plastic container with a tamper-evident safety seal — the kind that shows clearly whether someone has opened the container before.

Because the manufacturer is serious and well-known, I assumed that keeping the SN in its original container would be an adequate storing method. I also assumed that the safety seal implied the container was airtight. Now I'm starting to question that assumption.

In the thread I will attach a photo of the container, so you can see exactly what type of packaging my SN is stored in.

I have noticed that several users here store their sodium nitrite containers inside additional zip-lock plastic bags, or even place the whole container inside a larger airtight box. I never did this, because I always thought: what would be the point? If the manufacturer sells SN in this container, it should logically be suitable for preventing degradation into nitrate. Otherwise, the company would lose credibility, and customers would complain.

But now I'm starting to doubt. Why should I put plastic bags around the SN container, or place it inside an airtight container? This product was sold by a serious chemical supplier — not by someone inexperienced. Why would they choose packaging that cannot prevent the SN from degrading into nitrate? The container itself even states that the product has a 3-year shelf life from the production date.

I'd really appreciate your insights on this. I need to understand whether my storage method is sufficient or if I should improve it.

Thanks in advance

View attachment 186934

The images shared here seems like it's a vaccum sealed container with a plastic seal. If that is the case, then the packaging is good enough as it is and doesn't need any extra containers. Most people just go the extra mile from being extra cautious. Like putting it in an airtight container with silica gel packets can give people a greater sense of security, but its not really required if the packaging is vaccum sealed and has an unbroken plastic seal.

I presume there will be a further induction heat sealed aluminium foil inside which should help keep the contents fresh for a long time. The vaccum sealing keeps the moisture and air out from getting in. This would be the best protection for the contents inside.

The only case where I'll worry is if it's not a vaccum sealed container and maybe has a screw type lid - those sorts of boxes are less efficient in keeping the moisture out. I have one like that and the contents inside seem to have clumped up into one solid block although I haven't opened the box at all.

Also just because the contents have clumped up doesn't mean it's turned to nitrate. It probably means the SN doesn't have adequate amounts of caking agent and is actually purer, but because of the clumping, that's an indication that some moisture has got in either before it was packed or afterwards and hence the shelf life will be limited.

The pack of SN with the screw type lid I have has supposedly a shelf life of 4 years until which time I think it will do the job at the recommended amount but will still have to be tested. I also have another hdpe pack with the factory made vaccum seal that claims to have a shelf life of 5 years. The image shared being somewhat similar to what I have, I would have expected the shelf life to be 5 years and hence I am a little surprised that it's just 3 years. Honestly I dunno why manufacturers put these sorts of numbers here as SN is a very stable compound and from the research I've made, if it's stored properly, it should easily be good enough for at least double the claimed shelf life.

I think the reason why they put that sort of number is because that's the time frame they feel they can guarantee the contents to be at the assay level mentioned in the packaging. So if a packaging can hold the contents at an assay level of 98% or 99% for 3 to 5 years, one can imagine how much longer it can hold it until the assay level reaches 95% which is the generally recommended assay level. IMO at the recommended amount of SN mentioned in the PPeH, even an assay level of 90% should be adequate. Hence one can see that if the packaging is solid, there's no reason why the contents inside shouldn't be good enough for a long time.