Expiration Dates on Canned Goods and Other Products

[Clarity]

I have some MREs and a goodly amount of Mountain House freeze dried, but I also have a couple of weeks of canned goods, rice and noodles just in case. With my wife and family, rotation just isn't an option, so I go through now and then and donate the things that are past their expiration dates to the food bank and replace them.

My question is, how strictly do you observe the expiration dates on canned goods, rice and noodles? I heard a story recently that many of those dates are fairly arbitrary, and really represent "best by" dates. If a can is swollen or dented, sure, get rid of it. Would you use a can that is past it's expiration date if it was in good condition and properly stored? If the rice and/or noodles looked fine?

Thanks!

 

[Knuckleduster]

I've seen a guy on youtube that eats old mre's and I mean OLD ones. He has eaten WWII K rations. He aint dead yet but I would have to be REALLY hungry to try what he has eaten. To answer your question though I have canned goods that are a few months past the date that will be made into chili tonight.

 

[stocknup]

Personally , we have canned soups, veggies and the like dated from 2012 that we eat with no ill effects . I still perform the " sniff " test though.
We have a Lot of canned foods, as this was our first source of food storage when we started "storing" . It is hard to rotate stock with just a couple of people. We have moved on to freeze dried meats and eggs and the " go to" of rice and bean storage and canning of veggies and meats . ( and we are eating pressure canned chicken that is 5 years old that taste as fresh as the day it was canned )

 

[oldnovice]

StillTasty: Your Ultimate Shelf Life Guide - Save Money, Eat Better, Help The Environment

This site gives some general guidelines and info.

 

[jd4320t]

Why isn't rotation an option?

 

[SchwansManDan]

If the can looks good, I open it. If it smells OK, I taste it. If it tastes OK, I eat it.

I grew up watching my father scoop the moldy gunk out of a jar of fruit preserves & eat the "good" layer underneath the mold.

 

[Clarity]

Why isn't rotation an option?

Mostly because we don't eat much canned food, other than green beans (which my kids prefer to frozen). We mostly eat fresh or frozen. The canned food is for when we can't get fresh or frozen.

 

[rebarguyindy]

We have eaten many canned and dry goods well past the date on the package. And when I say well past, I mean a year or two. All have been stored in a cool and dry location. It was also my experience that some food banks will not accept canned items past their "Best Before" date.

 

[obijohn]

The real issue as canned goods age is the nutritional value. If the can isn't distended, it is likely safe to eat.

 

[cook4army]

From what I understand the date on he can is more of a "sell by/Best Buy" date. The manufacturers place dates on the cans to force the grocery stores to rotate the stock they sell in order to sell more. If the manufacturers didn't put a date on it, then places like Walmart and Krogers would buy 100K units at once and then not prefer again until they are out. The dates force the stores to buy more products from the manufacturers. The real question is nutritional value of the products after a certain time period, provided that the cans seal integrity hasn't been compromised.

 

[Thor]

If the can is bloated don't eat it. If it's not and doesn't offend when opened it's way better than starving. I've found C-Ration cans stuffed in the side of a foxhole before. Don't know how long they'd been there but the varieties were different from what we were being issued. We ate them.

As far as nutrition goes, make sure you don't throw away the juice. Vitamins may leach out of the bean or whatever but it's not going to leach through the can wall or just magically disappear.

One time we were sent to the field with the only purpose being to eliminate a block of C-rations that were coming due. Noting but Beans with Weenies and Beans with Meatballs for a month. Those things probably would have been fine a decade later...just not all at once.

 

[tribeofham]

I have found that certain foods fare the test of time more so than others. Canned foods that aren't bulging or rusted are typically fine. The date you see is a sell by/best by date not an expiration date. Other materials such as plastic is porous and it breaks down over time. As I'm told, bottled water, for example, is actually unsafe to drink past its expiration date.

 

[Thor]

J.C. Fields voice: Water, never touch the stuff...fish pee in it.

I prefer not to drink things that have not been purified by the brewing/fermentation process. I'm okay with an old can of beef stew to go along with it though.

 

[Phase2]

I have found that certain foods fare the test of time more so than others. Canned foods that aren't bulging or rusted are typically fine. The date you see is a sell by/best by date not an expiration date. Other materials such as plastic is porous and it breaks down over time. As I'm told, bottled water, for example, is actually unsafe to drink past its expiration date.

Snort... You know that most water is billions of years old, right? The only reason that water had those "best by" dates printed on them in the first place was due to a 1987 NJ law (which is no longer in effect) which required all foods to have an expiration date of 2 years or less. In other words, bureaucracy and regulation.

https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/144140946/

 

[Mgderf]

In the late 1970's I spent a few years working for Uncle Sam.
In 1977-78 we were given C-rations that were canned at the end of WWII.
No kidding. The dates on some of those cans were 1944-'45.
They tasted, well, like C-rations, but nothing was putrid, and no-one I know of ended up sick.

If the food was properly prepared and canned, they will last 50 years or more, as long as the cans aren't damaged.

 

[Lex Concord]

Canned goods definitely last... especially when stored in a cool dry place...
Arctic Explorers Uncover (and Eat) 60-Year-Old Food Stash | Smart News | Smithsonian

 

[Rookie]

I'll see your 60 and raise you...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertrand_(steamboat)

 

[Mgderf]

I'll see your 60 and raise you...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertrand_(steamboat)

There has been honey found in earthen pots, buried in Egyptian tombs for 2000 years that experts say is safe to eat.
Then again, honey is naturally antimicrobial.

 

[Phase2]

Honey is one of the foods that can last for decades+ as long as you store them properly. Others include rice, sugar, hard liquor, maple syrup, salt, vinegar and vanilla extract.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

There has been honey found in earthen pots, buried in Egyptian tombs for 2000 years that experts say is safe to eat.
Then again, honey is naturally antimicrobial.

Well, the earthen pots were probably safe to eat also, but who'd want to .

But I have found jars of honey from my own bees, cleaning out the back shelves of the pantry, that were years old, and other than being crystalized, it was always fine.