canned food

I started getting interested in this section of ats when the mexican flu first hit.
Back then I had the intention to stock up foods and basics for possible disasters.

Ok, I learned my lesson, because my first attempt failed bigtime.
didn't keep a good rotation system and I stored foods that we normally don't eat that much (because the family doesn't like it, not that this matters in times of emergency, right?)... anyway, most of it is spoiled now and ready to end up in the garbage can.

But before tossing it out I desided to try it and see if it really is spoiled when it's passed expiration date. I found that many products are not eatable anymore when they are more then 3 months over the date. For example: you can't store coffee and tea very long, it tastes bitter after it's gone over it's date.
Some of the veggies had a really weird and strong scent... didn't really dare to open the canned meat products... lol
But, a lot of the bread like products, like toast, cereal, etc.. seem to stay alright if they are stored in a dry place.

So my question is,
How long can you keep canned food? Most of it has an expiration date of 3 years... but is it still eatable after that?
How about medicines, painkillers, cough sirups,... do they become poisones?

sorry if these are stupid questions but I need to know before I start my second attempt :p

reply to post by GypsK


"digg" is down again so your post is blank temporarily. (Horrible ats move btw)

Anyway, good post! I wonder the same things often. I bought a can of hormel chili about a month ago and noticed it's good till 2013!! wow. I think by then, I'd be really afraid to open it LOL.

I try not to eat canned goods because of the Bisphenol-A used in the canning process. Of course if it's a matter of eating or not, one can't be too choosy. It seems though if you're rotating the stock, it would be hard to come close to the expiration dates. I've been researching dehydrators. I want to go that way for food storage, along with vacuum sealing.

Originally posted by yuefo
It seems though if you're rotating the stock, it would be hard to come close to the expiration dates.

that's the thing. I normally don't eat a lot of canned food, so if you never eat it, there is nothing to rotate and everything you have stored will go over the date and not usable in times of need.

reply to post by GypsK


Yeah, I see what you mean. My idea is to dehydrate, vacuum seal, then freeze. I figure even if the electricity goes out, everything will still be good for at least a couple months. During that time, I could be dehydrating and storing more stuff. But really you can't beat having a piece of property out in the sticks where you can hunt, fish and garden. The next best thing is to live in a small town where people know and help each other. Sorry, I'm getting off-topic here a bit. Lately I've been a bit pessimistic about the way things are going.

Canned food is an interesting field of study, but I am definitely no expert.

But I have been on two wintering expeditions to the Antarctic, where we had to live off a single food delivery for twelve months.
So I have picked up a little bit of secondhand knowledge.
And also experienced first hand the disappointment of doing it wrong.

The military have done a lot of work on this, and you might find a detailed study of combat food ration packs and nutrition well worth the trouble.

There are many problems with canned food, mostly to do with the cans themselves.
Freezing can be a real problem in very cold climates. That can rupture the can, or spoil the food, so it is never again the same when thawed.
And rusting of the cans on the outside can be a particular problem in humid conditions.
Some foods can contain acids and enzymes which can attack the inner lining of cans, which can not only spoil the food, but also eventually eat right through the metal !

So some canned food does have a fairly limited storage life, that you should be aware of.

Much more reliable are dried, freeze dried, and dehydrated foods. This is never particularly palatable if you have a fresh food alternative.
But where you may not, it sure beats starvation !!

Forget about fresh milk, fresh eggs, and ice cream.
Start thinking about serving hot food with sufficient calorie intake.
We are talking about survival, not about eating gourmet treats.

If you are doing this for real, think very basic diet, which will be boring.
But you can hide away (in secret) a few special treats, such as chocolate, or a small bottle of spirits for very special occasions. It can be a great morale booster.

You also need to think of at least three totally independent ways to heat and prepare food. Even something very plain can be most welcome if it is served hot, and there is plenty of it.

Whatever you plan to do, I suggest you decide to plan ahead and get set up.

Then turn off the water, gas, and electricity to your home for at least a couple of weeks.
It will be a real revelation.
You will use far more matches and paper towels than you ever imagined possible. You will suddenly think of things that you never though about before.
Try it, it is fun, and VERY instructive.

Good luck !!

Canned beans will last for at least 6 months past the expiry date. I noticed a can at the back of the cupboard and tried them out of curiosity. Tasted fine.

I seem to recall the dates on the cans are more to do with how the coating on the inside the can degrades over time? As it degrades it somehow taints the food.

Originally posted by Silver Shadow


Then turn off the water, gas, and electricity to your home for at least a couple of weeks.
It will be a real revelation.
You will use far more matches and paper towels than you ever imagined possible. You will suddenly think of things that you never though about before.
Try it, it is fun, and VERY instructive.

Good luck !!

This is a great idea. I want to try it. The only one I know I could go without right now for 2 weeks is gas, although cold showers don't sound like much fun.

Originally posted by yuefo

Originally posted by Silver Shadow


Then turn off the water, gas, and electricity to your home for at least a couple of weeks.
It will be a real revelation.
You will use far more matches and paper towels than you ever imagined possible. You will suddenly think of things that you never though about before.
Try it, it is fun, and VERY instructive.

Good luck !!

This is a great idea. I want to try it. The only one I know I could go without right now for 2 weeks is gas, although cold showers don't sound like much fun.

Try it first for one day only, it will freak you out.

Get what you need, and try it again for three days.

You will learn more in a couple of days than reading a dozen books, hehehe.

Hot showers are not necessary.
You will absolutely stink for a couple of weeks, then the smell will slowly go away.
Animals don't take showers, and they don't stink either. They just have a warm not at all unpleasant animal smell.
Just don't come anywhere near me for a few weeks, then you will be o/k.

[edit on 4/6/2010 by Silver Shadow]

Corned Beef is a good one I used to own a warehousing company and we would receive deliveries from Argentina with 6 years shelf life on they would sit in the warehouse for about 3 years before going to the supermarkets.
I was also involved in storing canned fruit which as you have quite rightly said will degrade over time and the acid in the fruit will eat in to the laquer of the can and eventually the can itself I have however seen some products best before dates removed and up to two years additional shelf life put on to cans of fruit.

They do put all sorts of nasty chemicals in the cans (which the long term effects on humans has not been researched) But thats another story!!
You would also be alarmed if I told you the brand names of the products that were simply re labelled, the ink markings removed and replace with an additional years shelf life on!

Originally posted by Silver Shadow



Animals don't take showers, and they don't stink either. They just have a warm not at all unpleasant animal smell.
Just don't come anywhere near me for a few weeks, then you will be o/k.

[edit on 4/6/2010 by Silver Shadow]

You haven't been close to many wild animals have you? Raccoons and foxes smell so strongly you can detect them 100 yards away if the wind is right. Otters and other weasels have a dank, rotten smell, even the babies (which I got to bottle feed at a wildlife rehab center). Deer and bears too, they all kinda stink.
Yeah, we don't NEED hot showers and most people can;t handle getting into a cold one so what you do is take a (pardon my french) whore's bath: use a washcloth and a bucket of room temperature water to bathe with.

Back to the OP - most medicines will last a full year beyond the expiration date. Exceptions to this would be heart medication which if altered in any way could be fatal.
Dried and freeze dried foods are your best bet. Get powdered milk rather than canned, it doesn;t taste as good but keeps better. Be sure to get pleny of spices, they keep well and don;t go bad but simply lose their flavors.

Originally posted by GypsK

sorry if these are stupid questions but I need to know before I start my second attempt :p

First off, there are no stupid questions when you are just getting started with food rotation and storage, unless that question is: "Hey, I see you have enough to survive this disaster, I spent all of my time and money at the strip club, so you should help me out, right?"

Aside from that......

You got the idea right that you need to stock up and rotate your supplies. The thing you did wrong was, you must stock up and rotate things you actually use and eat. Store what you eat, and eat what you store. Otherwise, you wind up throwing away alot of money and wind up frusturated and broke.

You dont eat canned food. Dont stock up on it. Simple as that. What do you eat? Rice, beans, steaks, fish?

Thats fine, and the same principals can be applied. Buy in bulk, freeze what you can (fish, meat) and keep the rest dry. Keep the bulk items in a storage area, and a small ammount in your everyday pantry/kitchen. When your everyday area runs low, restock from storage, then restock that as needed. Obviously, there are items this doesnt work for. If you eat alot of fresh salads, its hard to keep lettuce fresh very long, so a garden is your only recourse. But most other veggies can be stored dry for a rather long time if done correctly.

If you must store canned food, dont store the stuff you buy from a supermarket. As has been mentioned above, there are alot of things that can go wrong with steel storage cans. Canning your own fresh foods in glass jars, either a water bath or pressure canning will eliminate most of the problems you have with cans. I realize not everyone will or can put up their own food. Find a local farmer, farmer co-op, gardener, what have you. Tell them you want canned fresh produce, but cant/wont do it, and you would pay them for x number of jars of each product. Capitalism at its finest. In my personal experience, if the glass jars are kept away from the sun and cool, produce will last an insane ammount of time. I opened a jar of kraut my grandmother made in the early 90's last year that was still good. Just know what to look for. Discolorment, white scum, sour smells. If you have that, get it out of the house.

If this seems way to complicated or involved, you can do what another poster on here does. I fail to remember the name, but every 3 years he buys a years supply of MRE's. When the three year mark hits, he donates them to a local food bank, and buys another years worth. Yes, its expensive one out of three years, but they wont go bad, and you need not worry about getting sick from them or throwing food away.

As for household items such as medicines. I have never studied, or have seen studies that I would trust as to the time lines these can be kept past a due date, so for now, stick with that. Not a bad time to read up on medicinal plants should something long term happen. But as a rule of thumb, most cough syrups and simple meds dont cost a whole lot, so plan on having a years worth, and use/rotate accordingly. If it is prescription, I would talk with a doctor or pharmacist over advice on any website.

Good luck, and I hope you have more success this go around.

I will not pay for anyones hospital bills...that said...

if your cans are not swelled or pregnant ....they are safe...

They usually swell at the ends 1st..

ETA...myself I only carry a few cans...5 tops...

reason::::just the weight alone is mind boggling..unless bugged into a shelter..if on foot, an empty can full of .22 ammo will get me many hundreds of pounds of food....the cans are for emergency "bad hunt" days...and I will go 3 days w/out before I touch a can of food.



[edit on 4-6-2010 by Doc Holiday]

I think, if you are careful, it should be possible to store cans in an airtight plastic container and store them in a safe location. As long as you are more interested in keeping up your calories - in plain survival - then you could relocate your cans and survive on them after situation X.

This couple were quite confident and did not drop dead after eating their stored can:

Husband eats 50-year-old chicken

Beryl and Les Lailey had kept the tin since their wedding
A man celebrated his golden wedding anniversary by eating a 50-year-old tin of chicken.

Les and Beryl Lailey, of Denton, Gtr Manchester, were given the chicken in a hamper on their wedding day in 1956.

Link to Article

I think tins are robust, reasonably waterproof in a good container and not easily 'breakable' like a glass container. By all means heat the contents if you suspect the sterility of the contents.

Thank you all for the replies, there are some good tips and advice in here, some of it I will definitely try, especially drying foods... I will look into that.

The way I am living lately, we are used to go to the store each day and buy fresh foods, I don't even use my freezer unless for ice cream... (even cook fresh food for my cats, lol).
Next month I'll be moving to a house in the woods, a few km away from the nearest town, I want to grow my own veggies and herbs, have chickens and go to the store once a week for freezable products.

the problems is, I said this before on ats, my husband don't want to hear about preparing for a possible disaster, he thinks I'm to paranoid. So everything I do is without telling him. Like the heating system in the new house, I opted for a cole/wood stove that can be used for cooking (just in case) and he has no idea there is an old water pump in the garden, one that has to be operated manually. The fence around the house is extremely high and about half a mile further there is a fishing pond. He doesn't notice these things, but for me it's perfect. There even is an old but intact bunker near by in the woods, I think from WW1

btw, I remember my grandmother used to store veggies in glass pots, she sealed them off with a layer of 'parafine' before putting on the lit. They did keep good for much longer then 3 years... I think it's the same method they use to store marmelade or jam (not sure how you call it).
One other thing my grandma told me, during the war they did all they could to keep their chickens healthy because the eggs where the best meat replacements they had.

But I guess it all depends on what kind of disaster your facing, it's all no good if you are forced to leave home and run for it... and whatever you have in your garden is no good if for ex. vulcanic ashes block the sun out.
For the last scenario you'll have to store a LOT.

Corrosion Prevention of Canned Goods

Some areas have difficulty storing metal canned goods for long periods of time. This is usually caused by very high humidity or exposure to salt in a marine environment. If this is a problem, it is possible to extend the life of metal cans by coating their outsides. I've seen this used on boats here in Florida, especially when loading for a long trip. There are at least four methods that can be used to do this:

Paraffin Method
PARAFFIN METHOD: Using a double boiler, paraffin is melted and brushed on the clean, unrusted cans. Be certain to get a good coat on all seams, particularly the joints. If the can is small enough, it can be dipped directly into the wax. Care must be taken to not cause the labels to separate from the cans. Do not leave in long enough for the can to get warm.

Paste Wax Method
Combine 2-3 ozs of paste or jelly wax with a quart of mineral spirits. Warm the mixture CAREFULLY in its container by immersing it in a larger container of hot water. DO NOT HEAT OVER AN OPEN FLAME! Stir the wax/spirits thoroughly until it is well mixed and dissolved. Paint the cans with a brush in the same manner as above. Place the cans on a wire rack until dry.

Spray Silicone
A light coating of ordinary spray silicone may be used to deter rust. Spray lightly, allow to dry, wipe gently with a clean cloth to remove excess silicone.

Clear Coating
A clear type of spray or brush on coating such as Rustoleum (tm) may be applied. This is best suited for larger reseable cans, but will keep them protected from corrosion for years.

Source: www.survival-center.com...

I ate a can of spaghetti-O's last night that expired in 07. Im still alive to type this.
As with most things common sense prevails. Your senses will tell you if something is truly bad.

If it is possible, can you grow your own vegetable garden and can your food in glass jars? A lot of that stuff lasts for several years. I have a lot of dry beans, split peas and rice. I also can my beef roasts. The meat is so good you can eat it right out of the jar without heating it up.

Do you have a girlfriend who you can work at canning with? It is not fun to do by yourself anyway. That would be an excuse for your husband too.

I am getting ready to can meatloaf. I hear it is good. In the event the shtf that should make a nice meal. You can also can sweet type breads. I am doing that too. I got a lot of jars from people who were too old to can any longer.

I wish you luck!

i went into a basement of a house that was borded up from the 40des found a box of lemon sodas from 1922 drank um tasted like chicken though .
lol no they tasted like lemon sodas i hate lemon sodas lolol
I reda soemware they found 3000 year old grain in one of the pirmids and it was still good '
hey and the escomos still eat the woolymamath when they find one and they have been froz for 15000 years

Dosn't canned food also have fluoride content? ive been living off cannned food fr the past 3 years, not making enough money and pay bills* im only just getting off it now. it aint the healthiest thing to do! personally it isnt nourishing at all, too many perservatives and sodium. progresso soups and chef boy r dee raviolis basically is what ive ben iving off. igert hungry again in 6 to7 hours, msotly becuase i smoke and have a fast metablism.
its much better to eat as fresh as possible is what ive learned over past 3 years. lost lots of weight resorting to canned food* all canned food does is put something in yuor stomach to digest, so you feel full* if it was good for you, i would have gotten fat already