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This message has been edited. Last edited by: old dino,

Generally, as long as the product is stored properly and not exposed to intense heat it could last almost indefinitely


Make sure to check cans for swelling

If they are swollen or misshapen throw them out

Unless you want botulism.

Yep. As long as the can is in good shape and it passes the nose test, it goes down the hatch.

Eat it. If it's bad and you die, don't eat it again.

I've found that canned soup seems to go bad more quickly than a lot of other canned stuff. Vienna sausage, spam, and canned ham keep well. Had several cans of green beans swell and leak a couple years after their "best by" date.

As long as it's stored properly and the seal hasn't failed, there is no reason for it to ever go bad.

I mixed up a pitcher of Kool-Aid Lemonade that was packaged in 1962 a few weeks ago.

Yeah, it's still much better than anything packaged under the Kraft name.

Have to see what other flavors my parents have sitting around.

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
I've found that canned soup seems to go bad more quickly than a lot of other canned stuff. Vienna sausage, spam, and canned ham keep well. Had several cans of green beans swell and leak a couple years after their "best by" date.

For the soup, it may be the acids in them and for the beans the gasses given off as they slowly decompose.

I have wondered more about stuff in plastic jars, ketchup and pasta sauce certainly change color, 2 or 3 years down the road.

My daughter was home from college, and checked a jar of Prego spaghetti sauce we had used earlier in the week, she was grossed out that BB date was 2013, and promptly threw it away.

Good thing she didn't check the Jiff peanut butter, because it is also 2013, and tastes great.

One thing that did surprise me, sauerkraut in a glass jar, turned a nasty color rather quickly, compared to other pickled things. Might have been OK, but I wasn't up to testing it. Pickles last , but do lose some of their crunch.

I have a bunch of smoked salmon that I've bought and stockpiled from Costco over the years. I routinely eat it 2 years past the expiration date -the expiration date is usually 4 years from the date it was processed (went 4 years over that 4 years once) and it's good to eat.

When I started doing this, a Smoked Alaskan Salmon 1/2 was $8.99. It's gone up every year, and is about $10 more now. So $18.99. The thing you are always left wondering is how they can make a fish, a FISH mind you, last that many years.

quote:

Originally posted by IndyRob:
I mixed up a pitcher of Kool-Aid Lemonade that was packaged in 1962 a few weeks ago.

Yeah, it's still much better than anything packaged under the Kraft name.

Have to see what other flavors my parents have sitting around.

Did you check it's value on eBay?

We had some cans of spaghettios and ravioli that were about 8-10 months past their stamped date. Didn't get sick, but the taste was wasn't good.

After that, I think dates depend on the product.

quote:

Originally posted by old dino:
Having done research I have found that Hormel canned products have a used by date by law but at the end of the day the end date is actually indefinite.

Today I am opening a can of Great Value (Walmart) Luncheon meat (aka Spam) with a best buy date of: 08/17/13 to fry up with some eggs and onions for breakfast.

At the end of the day, however we may argue, the is not much difference between this and Spam.

Bottom line, after opening the Walmart can, nearly 4 year plus past due, the product seems like new the day it was canned.

Am just curious what others have found regarding the vast majority of canned meat products of any kind that have been put away for the shtf days.

I opened a can of Dinty Moore Stew that had been in our pantry for more than fifteen years. It was inedible. I don't think it was spoiled, but the taste and smell were bad. I know the stuff isn't very good in the first place, but . . .

To add to what others have said, it will also lose a lot of nutritional value as well even though it it probably good to eat. I have eaten 1 year+ past "best by" date canned stuff quite a few times.

I have a multi-tiered approach. My (super small) pantry, freezer, a couple shelves in closet with normal canned and dry goods is my winter storm; 3 day to 2 weeks supply.

Beyond that, I have long term storage dehydrated and freeze dried foods plus over a case of un-eaten MREs from training. Not a lot for my family of 5, but with garden augmentation we can make it awhile.

Expiration dates are set by corporation's attorneys not their scientists. That is the reason for canned food being good a couple years past date on can.

I just read an article about strip clubs that serve food.

A guy wanted a hamburger, so the "waitress" went and pulled one out of the freezer. It was expired by 4 years. Her manager told her to make it.

She also said the grease in the fryer was never changed, nor was a lid put on it for the 3 months she worked there. And they sold a lot of fries.

Get a case of Botulism from an old canned product and you will wish you NEVER ate an out of date canned meal.

For SHTF stuff, buy products you normally eat and just rotate through them so they stay fresh. Saving $2 to eat something 5 years out of date isn't worth the risk of a hospital visit for me!

quote:

Originally posted by ASKSmith:
I just read an article about strip clubs that serve food.

A guy wanted a hamburger, so the "waitress" went and pulled one out of the freezer. It was expired by 4 years. Her manager told her to make it.

She also said the grease in the fryer was never changed, nor was a lid put on it for the 3 months she worked there. And they sold a lot of fries.

Well, the dim lighting in strip clubs make everything look much younger and much better than they are. EVEN THE STRIPPERS!!!!!!!!!!!

I started in the grocery business in 1980, left it in 2015

it went from damn near nothing that would go out of date, to everything,

canned goods had a code on them, nothing else,
we rotated when the label changed, since we had no idea how to read the codes (every packer and manufacturer had a different code)

lunchmeat would say best if sold by xx/xx/xxx but also said good up to 7 days past,

fresh meat, and produce were routinely repackaged with a new sell by date, marked down if they started to turn funky,

back then middle meat (ribeye, strip, filet etc) was $$ and marked down, the rest was ground for burger if it did not sell in a few days,


one of the biggest fits I ever witnessed a customer throw was over out of date dogfood,

by a day,

and at that time, I had no idea pet food had a sell by date,

My favorite is I order pink Himalayan salt which says it has been in the earth for millions of years in the description. Flix the bag over and it has a sticker Used by 7/1/2022

Hmmmm. In earth forever. Crushed up mineral But I have to use it in three years