let's talk about expiration dates on foodstuffs

[robsdak]

i searched this topic and couldn't or find the answer i wanted. so off too the masses for an answer.

mom and i were out the other day and stopped in a 'discount store', not really my thing,but. she wanted to look for???

she knows i like Gatorade and they had some in the 2.5 gal package for $1. it was out of date by 1 yr and a mo. she also found some Ball Canning mixes that were $.25 and out by 1 yr and 6 mo. i am all for saving a $1 on something, but at the risk of becoming sick? NOT!

she assured me the 'date thing' is for the Manufacturers use? i still have a little voice in my head saying, ' it's bad, you'll get sick '. :) i always figured the date was there for a reason, so i follow it.

any thoughts?

[oif0709]

I make it a habit to grab a couple cans and other food items every time I go to the store. Tuna in oil and crap like that is dated for 3 to 4 years. I was looking at tuna helper but it's shelf life wasn't long.

I've toyed with the idea of vacuum sealing things like that and adding dry packs to try stretching the shelf life. I've got some cans of dry food I just add hot water to, though they're 8 servings and should be used within a few days of opening, so I may portion those out.

I've got to look at what I have but soup and stuff is ok for a few years. I think ive got potatoes as well.

[helomech]

If you open it and it smells fine, it won't hurt you. I don't worry much about expiration dates on most items.

[Sniper-T]

It is a manufacturer legal thing! To limit their liabilities. Do they still say 'Expiration' on them? Or do they say 'best before'?

How can a can of whatever be good today, but due to a date on the can be garbage tomorrow?

Open the can, smell it, if it smells fine, eat it!

I have cans in my pantry 3+ years 'expired', And I have no qualms about eating them.

[robsdak]

It is a manufacturer legal thing! To limit their liabilities. Do they still say 'Expiration' on them? Or do they say 'best before'?

How can a can of whatever be good today, but due to a date on the can be garbage tomorrow?

Open the can, smell it, if it smells fine, eat it!

I have cans in my pantry 3+ years 'expired', And I have no qualms about eating them.

slow down big papa! :p

'expiration'... i know what 'best before' means... i didn't eat it fast enough. :) not in cans, plastic bags and the spices are in paper/foil pouches.

[Domeguy]

If they are both a dry powder mix, and the packages are in good shape, IMHO, I'd say you are good to go. Both are made and packaged by reputable companies, one I worked for for years, and they both take food safety very seriously.

[realist]

i can tell you trail mix six months old tastes like crap. Anything out of date with peanuts starts to taste rancid. Peanut butter will go little longer. as to pasta type things the pasta is ok it is the mix that goes bad so make your own

[MegaCPC]

I'm planning on cooking a can of beans tomorrow for breakfast that "expired" last month. I've got some tuna and salmon in cans that "expired" back in 2012, we'll see if they're any good. Once an item passes two years it's a little iffy for me personally, but I would guess that if the seal is good, it won't hurt you. It might not be as tasty though!

Preparedness problem #127: finding that stash of canned fish you hid and forgot to log the dates.

[Vodin]

If it looks and smells ok I would use it.

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/food-safety-education/get-answers/food-safety-fact-sheets/food-labeling/food-product-dating/food-product-dating

[Sniper-T]

Anyone remember this thread:

http://www.shtfready.com/threads/923-What-s-the-oldest-food-you-ve-ever-eaten?highlight=oldest

[slowz1k]

I just finished off 3 cans of 2012 Chef Boyardee Ravioli last week. Took them to work for lunch. I forgot to rotate them out of my current stock.
Tasted fine, smelled fine, no worries.

I keep my canned goods cool and dry. If I thought they had seen a 17 degree, or a 90 degree day, I would be a little wary.
A rusty and/or a bloating can will get 86'd quick.

Non canned items, I feel, need to be scrutinized a little more thoroughly, and handled on an individual basis, depending on ingredients.

Ditto on the 6 month old trailmix... Not good

[jamesneuen]

it's the oils in the nuts that make trailmix go bad supposedly. the oxygen does it. So factories put different gases in the bag when they seal it. Oldest i have eaten is pickles that my mother and i canned when i was 13. I still have 2 jars in the pantry. they aren't crispy but they taste amazing still

[robsdak]

ok, guys. point taken. i really like all the comments thus far. canned foods aren't the problem. we all have a couple 3 in the pantry that are out/past dated. i have heard of folks eating 'home canned goods' years later. it's things in packages, for me. MRE's are a completely different thing, they are meant for long term storage.

[AlphaTea]

Wifey made some "Tuna surprise" a few years ago with a couple of those foil pouches. They were 3 or 4 years past best by date. Still tasted like Tuna Caserole to me. I didn't get sick. Kittys said it was safe too.

While on this subject, what is the opinion on exp MREs? I have a case with insp date of 07 and one of 08 that are my oldest.

[robsdak]

10+ yrs past the inspection date? if stored properly?

[jamesneuen]

Depends on the brand. The cheaper ones in plain plastic I don't use very far past expiration but the Mylar covered ones I am comfortable using regardless.

[Sniper-T]

crack one open and try it! Or better yet, feed it to a buddy! Better to find out now with stomach pumps and pepto bismo are around than when SHTF and they aren't!

[AlphaTea]

My basement is around 65f year round. I opened the older case a couple of years ago. The Tabasco sauce bottle had leaked. The cookie was ok. Stuff was edible but not what I would call palatable, so a normal MRE. I won't throw them out but, I have other things I can eat.

[robsdak]

i'll pass. as long as i can grow, catch, shoot, trap and can food to eat, i am not going to rely too heavily on processed foods.

[Sniper-T]

Found a handy - dandy guide for you...

A Bachelor's Kitchen Guide

Freezer Foods:

ICE CREAM

If you can't tell the difference between your ice cubes and your ice cream, it's time to throw BOTH out.

FROZEN FOODS

Frozen foods that have become an integral part of the defrosting problem in your freezer compartment will probably be spoiled (or wrecked anyway) by the time you pry them out with a kitchen knife.

In the Fridge:

EGGS

When something starts pecking its way out of the shell, the egg is probably past its prime.

DAIRY PRODUCTS

Milk is spoiled when it starts to look like yogurt. Yogurt is spoiled when it starts to look like cottage cheese. Cottage cheese is spoiled when it starts to look like regular cheese. Regular cheese is nothing but spoiled milk anyway - if you can dig down and still find something non-green, bon appetite!

MEAT

If opening the refrigerator door causes stray animals from a three-block radius to congregate outside your house, toss the meat.

UNMARKED ITEMS

You know it is well beyond prime when you're tempted to discard the Tupperware along with the food.

GENERAL RULE OF THUMB

Most food cannot be kept longer than the average life span of a hamster. Keep a hamster in your refrigerator to gauge this.

On the Shelf:

CANNED GOODS

Any canned goods that have become the size or shape of a softball should be disposed of... Very carefully.

POTATOES

Fresh potatoes do not have roots, branches, or dense, leafy undergrowth.

THE GAG TEST

Anything that makes you gag is spoiled (except for leftovers from what you cooked for yourself last night).

BREAD

Sesame seeds and Poppy seeds are the only officially acceptable spots that should be seen on the surface of any loaf of bread. Fuzzy and hairy looking white or green growth areas are good indications that your bread has turned into a pharmaceutical laboratory experiment. You may wish to discard it at this time, depending on your interest in pharmaceuticals.

CEREAL

It is generally a good rule of thumb that cereal should be discarded when it is two years or longer beyond the expiration date, or when it will no longer fall out of the box by itself.

FLOUR

Flour is spoiled when it wiggles, or things fly out when you open it.

PRETZELS

Normally eternal, pretzels may be discarded if they can no longer be picked up without falling apart. Otherwise, there's nothing to stop you from eating a pretzel that the Pharaoh put down only 4000 years ago.

RAISINS

Raisins should not usually be harder than your teeth.

SALT

It never spoils. However, if you can't chip off reasonable amounts from the block, maybe another box is in order, as fresh salt usually pours.

SPICES

Most spices cannot die, they just fade away. They will be fine on your shelf, forever. Put them in your will.

VINEGAR

If your grandmother made it, it is probably still good.

Expiration Dates:

This is not a marketing ploy to encourage you to throw away perfectly good food so that you'll spend more on groceries. Even dry foods older than you are may be ready to replace. Perhaps you'd benefit by having a calendar in your kitchen.

[Socalman]

Cooking oil often goes rancid pretty quickly. I like to be sure we have a few bottles on hand and always look for the farthest date when I purchase it. As others pointed out, it is the oils in nuts that cause trail mix to spoil.

I have eaten canned goods that are a couple of years past "expiration" dates and had no ill effects. Once again, others pointed out that if the can looks ok, no bulging or rusting, and the product does not have a bad smell, it will probably be good to go.

[realist]

Oils do go bad relatively quickly. I just got back from a road trip to Oregon and was starving. Sooooooo scrounging through the glove compartment I found some packaged crackers and peanut butter...........dry.......stale...........I ate them anyway I was hungry. When I go home everything got switched out.

I recently had some refried Rosarita beans which had a use date of 12/2010. They had a white lining in the can and were great. I also had some other whole pinto beans which were 18 months old and they too were great.

[Sniper-T]

Just rotated my 'oldest' box of cereal through, exp 1/1/2013. Honey nut cherrios... tasted just fine.
Opened a jar of cheezwhiz, from 2012 and it was darker and somewhat drier. Tasted more like old cheese. Didn't spread well, but was awesome for cooking/ melting on stuff.

[jamesneuen]

I know you guys say oil goes rancid quick but Lard is what I prefer and i have the same jar in my pantry from bacon grease and such that I have had going for 2 years now without sealing. Still tastes like angel shit.

[Katrina]

If your cans have been stored in cool, (60-55 degree) dry area AND they are not dinged or bulging or rusted, they should be good past the "best by " or Expiration date for a couple of years, maybe more. However, the nutritional value decreases with age. So you may have good (ie. edible) food but nutritionally it may not be as it was when first canned, I'm talking about store bought cans not home canned food. I know the Keystone company has it on their website if their product is stored in the kitchen cupboard, they say their product is good for 5 years. I read somewhere someone found tins of food that were a hundred years old. They tested it, didn't kill or sicken the test subjects, (I think it was cats or dogs) but there was no nutritional value left in the food. It was edible but that's all. If you packed your dry goods properly, they should be good for along time. Nuts go rancid so does vegetable, canola(etc) oils. I read somewhere you can freeze olive oil and it will stay good for about 5 years but no other kind of oil can be frozen and stay viable. I don't know about the solid Crisco, how long it can be stored before it turns. Haven't seen anything on that yet.I can't remember but I think the Colorado or Utah Dept of AG has some information dealing with food storage and shelf lives of food. I have it book marked at work , will try to write it down and post it.