Sharp put a vacuum sealer in its new four-door refrigerator – CNET

The Sharp VacPac Pro is a four-door refrigerator with a vacuum sealer built into the top-left door. It was on display at this week’s IFA trade show.

Tyler Lizenby/CNET

We’ve seen refrigerators at the IFA trade show with all sorts of gimmicks including touchscreen controls, see-through doors, a variety of colorful finishes. And this week, Sharp displayed its own fridge upgrade: A built-in vacuum sealer.

You slide the edge of a bag in the slot on the door and press start to vacuum seal.

Tyler Lizenby/CNET

Sharp’s VacPac Pro, which the company announced Thursday at show, is a four-door refrigerator-freezer that has a vacuum sealer in the top-left door. The fridge will cost 2,199 euros (about $2,560, £1,975 or AU$3,545), and will only be available in Europe beginning in the second quarter of 2019.

Vacuum sealing can help keep your food fresher for longer period of time than if you were to store it in a container, foil or plastic wrap because it cuts down exposure to air that will speed up the spoiling process. You can also use vacuum-sealed food to sous vide, a process in which you vacuum seal your dish and cook it in a temperature-controlled water bath.

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To use the VacPac Pro, you put your food in a plastic bag designed for vacuum sealing and slide the edge into the slot on the fridge door. You press start, and the VacPro Pro will suck out all the air and seal the bag. 

A vacuum sealer in a fridge might not be what comes to the top of your mind when it comes to innovation, but it’s a useful addition that makes sense to be on an oven door. You’re already about to put food inside, so why not vacuum seal it first?

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