Did some cooking last night and needed a can of crushed tomatoes. Okay, no problem….I know I’ve got at least a dozen on the shelf in storage. I pull a can off the rack and read the datestamp on it. 2007. Meh, thats not bad. However, I do notice that the lid of the can is a bit convex. Odd. I flip the can over and check the other end…also slightly convex. Hmmm. Fingertip pressure causes the lid to flex. Ok, thats not good. Take it to the kitchen, whip out the can opener and the moment the can is pierced a jet of tomato liquid shoots out. Definitely not good.
As I’m sure you know, one of the signs of spoiled canned food is a bulging can. The bulging on this can was slight, but noticeable. The real clincher was the stuff squirting out once the can was opened…pressure buildup in the can is a dead giveaway. Out of curiosity I stirred up the contents of the can looking for any obvious signs of spoilage. Didnt see any and everything smelled the way it was supposed to. But, there is no way I’m taking a chance on food poisoning over a $2 can of crushed tomatoes. So, out they went. I retrieved another can of crushed tomatoes and carefully examined the lid…slightly concave..good, good. Checked all the other cans and they checked out fine.
Not sure why that one can decided to go south on me. Storage conditions were optimal, can integrity appeared fine, and there didnt seem to be any other possible reasons for the can failing. It just did. Most likely a flaw at the time of packaging/processing.
Moral of the story: bulged cans are a sign that something is wrong. It isn’t worth the headache (and hours of chills and vomiting) to save $2 when you should just really throw the damn thing out. Even if its a false alarm and the contents seem fine, why take that chance? So, always a good idea to carefully examine a can before you open it to make sure that things seem okay.
I had that happen once with a can of tomatoes, but only one, and I go through a LOT of canned tomatoes. I think the law of averages just says that once in a great while $hit happens.
Highly acidic items like tomatoes can actually explode on you when they go bad. Had cans of tomato juice explode in the garage once. Found out with the remaining couple of cans that they can literally flame up if near a flame source; builds up methane among other things. So a lot of fun to take any bulging cans you might have and put a couple of tracer rounds through ‘em.
Eating that can result in more than “a couple hours of chills and vomiting”. It can result in death. Food poisoning can Permanetly damage your pancreas.
I’m not sure if you are brave, or crazy, for opening that can. Maybe you should try to rotate some of your stuff and give the short dated items to a food pantry.
Where I live the economy has gotten so bad that the local High School kids started a pantry for their fellow students. (God Bless Them). From what the NEWS says, it’s working out real well.
Good decision but u should never bother with a bulged can. If it had botulism and sprayed in your face or into an open sore u might have had a real problem. I had a real bout back in 1970 and let me tell you how unbelievably bad it was, all from a broken seal on some home processed strawberry jam that tasted just fine 12 hours later I thought I was going to die
Never happens with canned Spam.
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You can’t tarnish a rusty blade.
I had a can of Pear halves that had swelled up so much it wouldn’t stand on end, just a year past expiration. I was lucky I found it in the back of the cabinet before it popped. I carefully clicked a can opener on it, to release the pressure (facing downward in the sink) and was amazed out how much pressure had built up. Smelled really metallic. Like Zoomer said, watch out for the acidic fruits and vegetables.
I’ve had food poisoning several times, all overseas. If you recognize you’ve got it, an antibiotic like Cipro will cut down the effects and speed recovery time. Now I always have a full prescription or two of that when heading to less developed places. I’ve read Cipro for fish is the same, but haven’t had the need to try that, yet.
When I was young and stupid(er), I used to sicken myself fairly often with food I’d leave out sitting on the stove for waaaaay too long. It got so i could recognize the symptoms pretty quick. Then it was just a matter of …returning….the food from whence it came. That cut the misery down a lot. At the first sign of trouble, it was time to get on my knees and start driving the porcelain bus.
Bah….I admire you taking the hit ‘for science’
I’m also kind of jealous…my wife is pretty amazing, but one of the very few things I wish I could ‘adjust’ in her psyche is her chronic fear of things past their experation date…she won’t touch something more than 3 or 4 months past the date on a can, despite it’s condition.
And with that, she’s getting better…used to be The Date was The Date.
We just donated about 20 cans of tuna that are going out at the end of May because we won’t get them in her preferred time frame.
When I was a lad in the service we routinely ate twenty year old combat rations. It was “what’s for supper.” That or nothing. People who get spacey about expiration dates also say “hungry” when they mean they have an appetite. If they get to know the difference their attitude toward expiration dates will change, pronto.
Botulism is by far the biggest danger, and doesn’t have to show any swelling or outward signs. like swelling or smell. The bacteria that causes the poisoning creates a tasteless toxin that paralyzes you and stops your breathing. The good news is the toxin is destroyed in boiling water. The bacteria grow where there is no oxygen, and a non acidic environment. The bacteria are dangerous, but the toxin is worse. Even tasting the liquid from a can of green beans with the tip of your finger can give you a fatal dose. Boil your canned food, especially high protein non acidic food. Just a heads up. See wikipedia for details.