Originally Posted by
jimlj
OP, I have eaten things 20+ years old if the can is not bulged or damaged. YMMV
I agree 100%.
I have a well stocked pantry that I could eat from for over a year, but I try to rotate everything I have stored. I also use a sharpie to mark purchase date on my cans. Over the years I purchased some food items that were on sale, but not things I regularly eat. Those items were reserved for "when I get hungry enough I'll eat it". That day never came, and when I moved a few years ago I threw away a lot of 20+ year old food. In the process I found several cans of things I use all the time, that I opened and ate. Everything I tired passed the sniff test and tasted fine. I'm sure if I had tried a new can of chili side by side with a 20 year old can I would have noticed a difference, but as far as being edible everything was perfectly fine.
My experience... only store things you will eat, and eat/rotate what you store.