To George Bailey: I strongly recommend not trying to conserve food unless you're going to keep it in a freezer and never take it out. Recently I spent time working with a collection that the donor had left some foodstuffs in the packaging. Some objects were infested with insects and had to be returned to the donor. Some others I cleaned the food out as best I could without damaging the objects. Food can cause other problems besides insect damage. Some objects were damaged with mold and some with rust. These objects dated from the 1920s through the 1990s. Collections need care. The objects with mold are isolated from the rest of the collection. The rust has been given a small amount of treatment to prevent further deterioration. Retaining foodstuffs seems needlessly harmful. I didn't have much luck with literature searches either but would welcome any information your student turns up.