Just a reminder to check the expiration dates on your supplies.

-Batteries (non-rechargeable)
-Meds
-First aid items like prep-wipes, iodine swabs, ointments, etc.

Just updated a few kits and I was surprised at how much time had lapsed since I last checked on them.

I hate doing that because I realize that I should have rotated my stock so it got used!!!

How far beyond canned goods dates would feel safe with? Seems like they'll last a lot longer.

No sort of a recommendation, but I have used canned foods literally decades beyond the “best by” (they’re not “expiration”) dates. My rule is that if the can is intact and there’s no obvious problem with the contents, there’s no reason to fear eating it. If there were something inside that was going to poison me five years after the best by date, it would be there the day I took it off the store shelf.

Medications are another matter, and a nurse had a hissy fit when I told her I was taking a (very occasional) pill three years after the prescription was made. The effects seemed to be just as I expected. For something like antiseptics, although maybe not antibiotic ointments, I consider them to be a forever item, especially the primitive ones like iodine. I believe that some adhesives on bandaids can deteriorate and not hold as well after time.

Things like lithium batteries have marked shelf lives, but I certainly wouldn’t throw one away because I’d had it 11 years rather than less than 10.

I am pretty sure I have consumed a few cans of Dinty Moore Beef Stew that was 5-6 years old, with no ill effects.

I know I consumed many cans of expired potted meat and Vienna sausages in my younger days. Back then a can of potted meat or Vienna’s on crackers made a meal, especially if we were at the deer camp.

Pink Spam = Good
Grey Spam = Bad

Doesn't matter what the date is.

A good place to get replacement medical kit supplies is https://cpr-savers.com/ (no affiliation). they do sell in large enough quantities that group buys can be good deals.