Anyone who has been into preparedness/survivalism knows that canned goods last well beyond their ‘best by’ or expiration date. The internet is replete with stories of people eating canned goods that are five, ten, fifteen years old. Some things, like high-acid foods (pineapple, tomatoes, etc) don’t last long but most other stuff does. I’ve had canned meats that were several years past their dates and I’m still here.
Canned food, for me, is the first line of long(ish) term food. Canned vegetables, meats, sauces, etc. all are part of my layered food storage. Canned food is heavy to transport, but for a static situation it’s an excellent first choice.
Sadly, I know survivalists who have family members that will, under no circumstances, eat anything that is beyond that somewhat arbitrary ‘best by’ date (which is not the same thing as an expiration date, BTW.) Look, when the apocalypse gets here, in whatever form the destroyer chooses, and you havent had a real meal in days, you’re not really gonna care that the can of Hormel or Dinty Moore ‘expired’ six months ago. Crack it open, heat it up, and eat….you’ll be fine.
I recently found a case of Costco (Kirkland) Roast Beef and Gravy with a ‘best by’ date of 2012. The contents looked and smelled normal for canned meat and tasted great over mashed potatoes. Friends were claiming “dibs” on my firearm collection after I told them about it lol.
Three years ago I had a phone call from next door asking if a can of ‘soup was safe to eat as it only had six weeks to go on the ‘Best Before’.
Not the ‘Used By’ the ‘Best Before’ and still six weeks to go on that, she had found it at the back of the cupboard.
I told her it’ll be fine but just to be safe if she cooked it I’ll eat it to make sure. I’m hoping she eat it but knowing her I’m not so sure.
More than a dozen years ago a friend of mine discovered a canned chicken in his panty…. the expiry date was 18 years prior….. He ate it and had no ill effects.
i watched a tv show where they found 100 year old canned goods inside a gold mine, still in good condition and quite edible. in 1981 we had c rats from ww2 when the water main broke during basic training at ft. benning. we recruits got a kick out of it. later they gave us mre’s in the field. not so much kick. that was back when they had dehydrated burgers and pork patties and fruit in the mre’s. yuck!
I recently ate a can of “Underwood Deviled Chicken” that expired in 2011. It smelled and tasted fine. Had no digestive problems. That being said, I have eaten both Chef Boyardee Ravioli and Beefaroni from 2011. The pasta basically turns into mush and the garlic flavor is overwhelming. Still didn’t get sick.
back around 1998 or so, was helping my buddy redo his dad vacation cabin in the woods. had tuna fish for lunch. from 6 OZ. cans ? it turned out there was a false wall in one room and his dad had stored a lot of canned food, ammo and 2 rifles and shotgun behind it. from what I saw of the canned stash it was all from 1962 or
so. even the coffee was good. never saw a 5 pound can of coffee before that.
the tuna was in oil, so maybe that made a difference I don’t know.
and the spam was okay with eggs. but I never really care all that much for spam
so, I have no idea how it is should taste.
Per Hormel, Spam has no expiration date.
Wife opened a #10 can of pineapple tidbits recently.
Date 11/11, looked fine, passed taste test. Stored well,
No worries. Can was in good shape, but it was time. 😎
I have jars of 25 year old peanut butter, that I regularly use to make PBJs for some of my liberal prissy liberal friends. So far none have died or complained;
smile and just damn.
I opened 6 year past best buy date peanut butter recently. Looked okay, smelled okay but tasted not quite right. I ate it to see if anything would happen. No problems. Decided to get rid of it and buy fresh because I can.
If it isn’t swollen or leaking, I don’t worry. I’ve lived long enough to get old.
I took the leap today and canned my first venison. I did a test run with about 10 pounds of beef roast a few weeks ago and it went well. Today I canned 20 pints of venison (about 20#) and 7 quarts (about 14#). Everything looks normal and smells great. I’ve had great luck wrapping and freezing my venison, but that’s only good until your gasoline runs out and the generator quits. For that reason, I decided I needed to diversify and learn to can meat myself.
DIverging a bit to the topic of how long frozen meat will last, this fall I’ve made 10# of jerky with venison I froze in the fall of 2011. When I thawed it, there was one spot of freezer burn about the size of a quarter; the rest looked and smelled perfectly fresh. Tasted great,
Does that sell by date work on politicians? Like the old idiot and Nasty Ass Pelosi? Just asking.
Confirmed. As fellow readership members report, I as well consume post dated foods. Never a problem, Good to go. Those folks who have built up their own canning infrastructure as well as supplies in depth, and are practiced in the procedures and little tricks or nuances to do it successfully are the long game players. Commercially canned foods will be an integral commodity and currency in a grind up complete collapse scenario of course, but those will be exhausted, or be super hoarded out of circulation in short order. Those self producers and “Cannery Chads” that are set up and in practice can spool up easily to the new normal seamlessly. The Morman anons with their #10 canning ops and organization structures are ahead of the curve as well. Stay frosty and deep stock those canning lids too.
I once found a can of tomato paste that had been overlooked for many years – it didn’t even have a use by date on it, just a code. Out of curiosity I opened it & it was not edible. On the other hand, I’ve eaten a lot of canned meat & vegetables that were well past the use by date & they were fine. As were my older home canned meats.
CZ, I want to thank you again for all the posts you’ve made about vacuum sealing food for the freezer. A few years ago I finally bought a Food Saver & it’s wonderful! Saves time, space, & meat doesn’t get freezer burn. Wish I had bought it years earlier.
I’ve eaten some foods 5 years and a bit older and other than a bit of off taste, I had no stomach issues with it.. Smell was pretty much the same, can was not bulging leaking of course. Wife and daughter threw away at least 20 cans of food that passed their expiration while I was at work and did not know about it until later. I was a bit pissed, but let it go, muttering to myself. :^)
Now where I HAVE had some issues is with sugar free jelly. At least twice did the product have an off taste I decided I better not consume and threw it out. Being type II diabetic, I always keep a few of those bottles around (just in case they are no longer available) and these cans were hidden from view.
I’ve found that high acid foods will explode after long storage. I’ve had canned tomato products and fruits (particularly pineapple) bulge and/or ‘splode in storage. I also opened a can of tuna that had been in storage for a couple of years and found a suspicious black spot on the meat. No damage observed on the can. I threw the whole lot that it came bundled in into the trash. Botulism?
Quality of the Cans is Important, but you won’t know until it’s Too Late. Very Old Canned Goods, like from 30+ Years ago are made from thicker, higher-quality Steel. That’s why you hear stories of Oooold Cans still being Edible. I’m in the midst of the opposite Experience – the majority of my Reserve Food is Canned Veggies, Fruit and Soups, and I planned on a Rotation Cycle of around 7 Years. Now I’m finding Leaking Cans that are about 5 Years old, mostly Campbell’s Soups, not necessarily ones having Tomatoes in them. Examination shows that they are Corroding from the Inside, with no real evidence of Spoilage. I suspect that these Cans are made of Chinamart recycled ‘steel’, i.e. Ground-Up whole Cars, Aluminum, Copper, Plastics and Glass. The Rolling process to make Sheet Metal stretches and thins the particles of Contamination to the point that they are a definite Weak Spot in the Can.