Canned food shelf life ???

[elmacgyver0]

Storing away food for years is foolhardy.
Not storing away food for years is foolhardy.
The trick is to rotate your stock, use the oldest first and replace it as it is being used.
Every can I buy I write the date I bought it on the can or whatever it is with a sharpie.
I don't pay attention to the "Best By" date as some are hard to read and some cryptic.
I don't buy SHTF ration kits that everyone and their dogs are pushing.
I feel a well-stocked pantry with fresh food is a better, at least a more economical option.
I supposed a bag of freeze-dried packets may be a good option if you are going to light out for the woods, but as dverna pointed out, that may not be a wise decision.

[Brassmonkey]

I’ve never eaten any of that prepper food stuffs in the 5 gallon cat litter container, but just looking at the ingredients you ain't getting much for your money.

[Iowa Fox]

in 1968 while in Germany with the 3rd AD we fought over C-Rations dated 1955.......Wieners and Beans, they were the best.

The Beans and Franks were my favorite. Ham and eggs were so horrible I couldn't eat them if I couldn't trade out of them. I gave the smokes to one of my pals since I didn't smoke. Some of ours were dated back to Korea.

[dverna]

Speaking of freeze dried. Many of the Augasun Foods stuff is very good. I have a few cases as part of my preps. It has a 25 year shelf life but it is expensive. I wait for sales and top up.

I have enough stuff for us to go about a year if the SHTF. That is a long time if things go south. No plans to farm. If relief does not materialize, I can barter with others in the group as many folks farm and do gardens. The locals call my place “the ammunition factory” for a reason. At one time I had two 1050’s, two 550’s, a PW 800+ with AutoDrive, and hydro Spolar set up. No one else can make bullets. One other guy reloads. I am the only person with progressive presses for both metallic and shotgun. But realistically, I expect to be dead in a year. Not many people will make it but that goes not mean accepting defeat.

[Thumbcocker]

There was a ship that sank during the Civil War. When excavated 100 years after canned food (may have been in jars) was found and analyzed. It was found to be edible but had lost nutrients. Assuming the cans hold up food will be edible for decades. It may not be nutritious or tasty but edible. Storage is everything. Personally I routinely eat home canned venison and veggies over 5 years old. Tastes fine. Stored in a basement canned in jars.

[MaryB]

The date on food in MOST cases(not all! read close) is a best buy date meaning that that is the date where the product may begin to lose taste/nutrition. A few products may have an expired by date... I would have to go look in the pantry to see if I have any...

[KenT7021]

In the Army Veterinarian officers were responsible for inspecting C rations.They checked for swelled or leaking cans.Chopped ham and eggs were my favorite.

[jimlj]

OP, I have eaten things 20+ years old if the can is not bulged or damaged. YMMV

Storing away food for years is foolhardy.
Not storing away food for years is foolhardy.
The trick is to rotate your stock, use the oldest first and replace it as it is being used.
Every can I buy I write the date I bought it on the can or whatever it is with a sharpie.
I don't pay attention to the "Best By" date as some are hard to read and some cryptic.
I don't buy SHTF ration kits that everyone and their dogs are pushing.
I feel a well-stocked pantry with fresh food is a better, at least a more economical option.
I supposed a bag of freeze-dried packets may be a good option if you are going to light out for the woods, but as dverna pointed out, that may not be a wise decision.

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.

[M-Tecs]

In 1945 and 1946 when dad was in the Navy they had canned hams from 1917. He said they tasted OK. He did admit to liberating several cans of pineapple from the officer's mess during fire watch patrols.

[Garyshome]

Depends on how hungry you are.

[elmacgyver0]

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.

This!!!

[square butte]

We were eating surplus C's and K's when i first started working for the US Forest Service in 1975 - Started switching over to surplus MRE's in about 85. I liked the John Wayne bars which had a melting temp of about 220 degrees. They made a good substitute for a hockey puck and would break your teeth if you were not careful

[Three44s]

"......... A fellow I knew years ago was worried about what they referred to as "Y2K". If you weren't around then, that means "Year Two Thousand". The great fear was that the world was going to grind to a halt because the computers weren't programed to accept a date that didn't start with "19", like 1999, so they would shut down or make mistakes that would interrupt the food chain, etc. "

As a young pup I seem to recall the scribes fearing not being to be able to chisel "1000" into stone either ......

[cwtebay]

Of course there's the Franklin Expedition.....
I recall hearing from a client about a large number of deaths from canned goods while I was working in North Dakota also.
My grandfather said that they would use WW1 canned chicken for bait while waiting to be deployed from ships in the south Pacific rather than eating it.
Botulism can be a horrifying toxin, but astute canned goods consumers are well aware of that I am sure.
(Yes, I know that the Franklin Expedition's experience wasn't from botulism)

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

[MaryB]

Of course there's the Franklin Expedition.....
I recall hearing from a client about a large number of deaths from canned goods while I was working in North Dakota also.
My grandfather said that they would use WW1 canned chicken for bait while waiting to be deployed from ships in the south Pacific rather than eating it.
Botulism can be a horrifying toxin, but astute canned goods consumers are well aware of that I am sure.
(Yes, I know that the Franklin Expedition's experience wasn't from botulism)

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

Lead based solder on the can seams dissolved into the food...

[Thumbcocker]

Lead based solder on the can seams dissolved into the food...

Yup. They used a contractor with limited experience in canning and lead based solder got in contact with the food. Metal cans were a new technology at the time.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

"......... A fellow I knew years ago was worried about what they referred to as "Y2K". If you weren't around then, that means "Year Two Thousand". The great fear was that the world was going to grind to a halt because the computers weren't programed to accept a date that didn't start with "19", like 1999, so they would shut down or make mistakes that would interrupt the food chain, etc. "

As a young pup I seem to recall the scribes fearing not being to be able to chisel "1000" into stone either ......

Wow! You have been around for awhile!

Yeah, I'll admit it....looking back on it now it seems a bit silly. But Y2K had never happened before (just like Y3K hasn't happened either, and no one had the actual experience of 1YK to draw on) and many of us were much less savvy about computers back then. The world and technology are expanding and changing at such an amazing rate, such as the advent of Artificial Intelligence and all of the worries and perhaps benefits that will bring.

But, no matter how advanced technology becomes, the same basic human needs to sustain life remain. Water and food being right up there at the top of the list. The robots need neither, and probably won't worry about if you have them or not. Then, there's always the unexpected-- fire, flood, earthquake, riots, roaming bands of starving illegal aliens, the Super Powers exchanging nukes....what could possibly go wrong? So, to me anyway, the bottom line is that it doesn't hurt much to have some supplies set aside. The only thing to perhaps debate is what and how much. Worst case is that you may eventually be out a few dollars, but it's like insurance. If you can afford it you should have it.

DG

[MarkW]

Where I live floods on occasion, and on some of those occasions it floods severely so having a months worth of food is somewhat common sense around here. Anyway, here are a few things that I do in regards to storing and eating food in no particular order-

First is to take the mindset that you are buying food that you like to eat and will regularly eat, and the only difference is that you are buying a months worth instead of a week. I fell into this trap once and bought a ton of really cheap macaroni and cheeses. Well when you go fix one then you find out the food tastes pretty tasteless and watery or something, and yeah it should keep you alive but actually eating it isn't that enjoyable. So anyway, put some thought into what you're getting and just get a box or two and then eat it before you decide to get half a shopping cart full. I'm not saying to go buy the most expensive stuff on the shelves and maybe the bargain stuff is perfectly fine for your palate but just try it out first. I lost a bit of salt, sugar, and flour due to humidity and it wasn't even that humid comparatively. The sugar hardens up but you could crush it still and use it, I just get salt in the round cardboard packages and it not only gets hard but salt will migrate through the cardboard. flour will actually go and taste stale/off when you bake bread with it. Easiest thing to do is just put a couple in empty plastic bags then tie the handles somewhat closed. As a final safety I am planning on one of these days storing all my dry goods in a 55 gallon drum with a sealable lid.

I have chickens, extra eggs I like to crack into tall square qt plastic containers and freeze. They'll last the winter and still taste good. A friend has a freeze dryer and he freeze dried a bunch and it would probably be good for baking but otherwise they were pretty awful if you were thinking of making scrambled eggs out of them. I'll always keep an open mind if someone ever figures out how to do it but freezing for me for eggs during the winter. And it is still a neighborly thing to give extra eggs to those less fortunate when you have enough frozen.

Dry things like beans, peas, flour, and rice I try to store in airtight containers just not individually, I have a few coleman/igloo style coolers that have broken hinges that I keep them in. One thing I learned from an Indian (from India) cook was to freeze them for 3 weeks before storage as that will kill all the bugs and any eggs in the package so I do that too. Also, I eat a lot of rice and not so much beans just out of preference but rice uses a lot less fuel to cook if you're planning for a shtf scenario, which I'm really not since this stuff just seems to happen where I live.

I don't do this, but since this post started with canned goods it is a helpful idea to write the contents and date on the lid of the can so if the labels ever fall off you know what it is.

I wouldn't call this a "concern" of mine but living in a somewhat basic environment takes a bit of energy and also causes a lot of personal stress, at least initially, and the value of good food and good rest should not be underestimated.

And lastly, a pleasant Easter to everyone!

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Great post, MarkW. Differing climate conditions and storage conditions are certainly something to consider, and should be reflected in what one buys for storage. Here, we're high and dry in the summer, snowed in during the winter. Most of my "stuff", canned goods included, is stored in plastic totes with the lids in place. That limits and contains damage to the tote's contents if a can blows up. It stays dry, as it's stored in a steel shipping container, but freezing of some things like glass jars is a concern.

DG

[Half Dog]

I have eaten C-Rations.