canned foods question
 

I've been recently accumulating quite a large number of canned foods. Normal supermarket items, not self-canned.
My question is, are they vacuum sealed? Should I expected them to last past the sell by date on the packaging?
If they are vacuum sealed shouldn't they last forever in theory?

Re: canned foods question
 

I think they label the dates for liability reasons.... But I am sure they would be fine for some time after the "sell by" date.

Re: canned foods question
 

We've had members here report of opening cans well past the "use by" date (e.g. 6 months to 2 years) without a loss of quality. But I wouldn't plan for that. If you rotate your stock, you should be in good shape as long as you are buying things you normally eat. You can accumulate quite a supply without violating the due date. If you are, then you are probably storing too much of that item. For instance, if you buy spaghetti sauce with an 18-month shelf life, and you use 1 can/jar per month, you should have a running 15-18 can supply. Do the math for all your items, and rotate stock. (Pasta stores about 30 months. If you use a box every two weeks, you can store 60 boxes!).

Re: canned foods question
 

AFAIK they do not really label them for liability reasons but instead to force retailers to move/update their stock regularly. Canned foods can lose flavor, taste, color, and consistency over time and they do not want customers associating their "low quality experience" with their product. Further, many brands have "freshness guarantees" and other nonsense which are costly and should be limited.

I've eaten a lot of canned food over five years past expiration with no noticeable problems in taste (or my health). I'd give cans sixty years past their date a shot (first check for bulging, then smell, then taste) but draw the line at WW2 (lead solder joints!). If the acid content of the product is high and the can is several years beyond the date, you can expect a metallic flavor. I don't believe that to be a concern (and have eaten them) but I would attempt to limit consumption of said product to a few a week, just in case.

Re: canned foods question
 

Thanks - sounds about right. Although I doubt I'll be consuming these cans 60 years from now, my guess is that they should be ok even a couple of years past the posted "sell by" date.

Re: canned foods question
 

They had a segment on a morning show with the CEO of Green Giant and he said the life of canned veggies were one year, after that the quality goes significantly downhill.

Re: canned foods question
 

The quality is utter shite on day one if it is grown with chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and/or GMOs.

Why bother hoarding food that not only doesn't provide nutrition, but has been proven to CAUSE illness?

Everything must be organic. Organic heirloom is preferred.

Period.

If you are going to go to the trouble of convincing yourself you are prepared for what is coming, at least give yourself a fighting chance at survival with real food.

Re: canned foods question
 

Canned goods do have an air-tight seal. The main thing you can do to help prolong their life is to store them someplace cool. Every 10 degrees below room temperature is said to double the shelf life. It also needs to be dry-enough to keep them from rusting.

Re: canned foods question
 

90 years sound OK? :bear_rolleyes:

Re: canned foods question
 

Here's a link to some very interesting info:

http://grandpappy.info/hshelff.htm

Among the highlights:

"Among the canned food items retrieved from the Bertrand in 1968 were brandied peaches, oysters, plum tomatoes, honey, and mixed vegetables. In 1974, chemists at the National Food Processors Association (NFPA) analyzed the products for bacterial contamination and nutrient value. Although the food had lost its fresh smell and appearance, the NFPA chemists detected no microbial growth and determined that the foods were as safe to eat as they had been when canned more than 100 years earlier."

"NFPA chemists also analyzed a 40-year-old can of corn found in the basement of a home in California. Again, the canning process had kept the corn safe from contaminants and from much nutrient loss. In addition, Dudek says, the kernels looked and smelled like recently canned corn."

"A canned food shelf life study conducted by the U.S. Army revealed that canned meats, vegetables, and jam were in an excellent state of preservation after 46 years."

I must therefore tend to agree with Meliorist that expiration dates on most canned foods are put there for marketing reasons.

Re: canned foods question
 

I've always been a bit confused by expiration dates and concerned about how and what guidelines were established for expiration dates.
It seems far more useful to have a "born on" date than a contrived expiration date.

Re: canned foods question
 

Pharmaceutical fertilizers, pesticides and GMOs were not in widespread use in 1934. The quality of the "food" would be much, much higher than a can today.