How long to keep canned goods?
- Thread starter gtodave
- Start date
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If it smells and looks fine when you open it I would say go ahead and use it.
I have used my home canned tomato sauce after 2-3 years on the shelf.
I have used my home canned tomato sauce after 2-3 years on the shelf.
When I was a kid, my grandmother has canned pickles and other stuff. She dated everything and the jars were the old bail type with replaceable seals. In 1960 I had pickles that were canned in the 40s. I asked how long the canned stuff would last? Sha said when they start turning color or foaming. The key was to store them in a cool place.
When I first enlisted in the USCG we had C-Rats in our life rafts. Some of them had dates made in the late 40s and early 50s. To tell if the water was bad, we shook it. If the water slushed in the cans, it was good if not it was bad.
Manufacturers put to use by or expired dates on their cans just to protect themselves from being sued. Many cans today have the peal back lids that are not as long lasting as can goods with solid lids. Also, over time cans can deteriorate on the inside causing the food to spoil.
Glass jars are the ticked as you can see the food and there is no deterioration of the linings. Pickles are always in glass as the acid will eat the interior of cans. Meats are canned under pressure at higher temperatures to kill bacteria. If canned in glass, they will last for years. My grandmother canned beef hearts and other meats some were 15 years old and still good.
dieselfarmboy
Ultimate Member
Tomato products in metal cans need to be watched. They eat thru the cans in a few years. Other then that ive eating stuff a few years past out of metal cans and so far still alive lol.
Boats
Broken Member
Canning is a concept. Most "cans" for home use are glass now.
The reality is, when you boil the cans you create a vacuum seal. The boiling with heat kills bacteria and aerobic bacteria cannot survive in a vacuum. Anerobic bacteria can, but they produce gas (CO2 and methane) in their cellular respiration. Viruses cannot survive without a host for more than a week or two, plus heat melts their layer of fat around their genetic code.
So, if you open a canned good and there is no vacuum, don't eat it, because the bacteria has offgassed and is present. If the vacuum is intact then it is safe to eat, because the big three of pathogens: aerobic bacteria, anaerobic bacteria and viruii are all mitigated.
Pretty solid science for a couple hundred years ago.
That said, botulism toxin IS the most deadly substance known to man (it makes VX gas look like pepper spray) so be careful.
Botulinum toxin is indeed deadly in even very small amounts.
One of my microbiology lab partners from many years ago was employed testing canned products for the presence of the toxin. He was immunized against the toxin as there was easily enough toxin released into the air when you opened a bad can that inhaling the mist could be fatal.
I find it amazing that 40 years later injecting this toxin has become a very common medical procedure for a number of different diseases.
Fortunately when we're discussing canned food the toxin is a protein that is easily and quickly destroyed by heat.
One of my microbiology lab partners from many years ago was employed testing canned products for the presence of the toxin. He was immunized against the toxin as there was easily enough toxin released into the air when you opened a bad can that inhaling the mist could be fatal.
I find it amazing that 40 years later injecting this toxin has become a very common medical procedure for a number of different diseases.
Fortunately when we're discussing canned food the toxin is a protein that is easily and quickly destroyed by heat.
- May 29, 2017
- 7,738
Botox!
Unless you are a baboon.
Hmmm
Well, you were looking for what to give wifey for Christmas, weren’t you?
Well, you were looking for what to give wifey for Christmas, weren’t you?
jr355
Active Member
Found a 10 year old can of Treet on the shelf. After looking it over for issues and opening it up the product looked and smelled fine. Taste was o.k. slightly drier than normal. Breakfast meat for last 3 days!
Yes. Let someone else try it first.
BartExp
Ultimate Member
We have a can of cranberry sauce that we put out on the table every year. No one in our family likes it so we put it away for next year. IT EXPIRED IN 1994!!! We do keep it in the fridge to cut down on chances that it explodes. Not swollen at all. We don’t really remember the purchase date.
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Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
KP Shooter
Le Flâneur
Depending on your reason for storing a bunch of cans, but if you have plenty of space, you could always save the “expired stuff” for desperate times. If it tastes bad etc, you could always dump it. Or trade it away.
Alan3413
Ultimate Member
- Mar 4, 2013
- 17,094
Here Kitty Kitty.
Trepang
Ultimate Member
2002, left on what was supposed to be a 65-75 day mission on USS Parche (SSN 683).
About Day 90 we started running low on food, more aggressive rationing started and the MS's started scrounging around in the back of the storeroom and came across a stash of canned stuff from 1970's and early 80's. We were glad it have it.
Outboard the Torpedo room the found some peanut butter in a metal can. It had set soooo long the oil had separated. Half the can had the consistency of cement and the other half was pure peanut oil. It took forever to mix it back up but we ate it with no ill effects.
I went onboard weighing about 180, came off 125+ days later weighing around 150.
The moral of the story is canned stuff lasts a lot longer than you would think and it surprising what you will eat if you are hungry enough.
About Day 90 we started running low on food, more aggressive rationing started and the MS's started scrounging around in the back of the storeroom and came across a stash of canned stuff from 1970's and early 80's. We were glad it have it.
Outboard the Torpedo room the found some peanut butter in a metal can. It had set soooo long the oil had separated. Half the can had the consistency of cement and the other half was pure peanut oil. It took forever to mix it back up but we ate it with no ill effects.
I went onboard weighing about 180, came off 125+ days later weighing around 150.
The moral of the story is canned stuff lasts a lot longer than you would think and it surprising what you will eat if you are hungry enough.
Grampa G
Ultimate Member
We didn't have any fresh veggies for dinner last night, so I grabbed two cans of green beans from the shelf. Expired in 2017...so basically brand new!
Anyway, the first one I grabbed started "hissing" when I picked it up. I put it up to my ear and heard the unmistakable sound of air moving through a small hole. I shook the second can, and it started to do the same. No obvious signs of rust on the can, but when I peeled the label there was corrosion along the welded seal. So watch for this!
Anyway, the first one I grabbed started "hissing" when I picked it up. I put it up to my ear and heard the unmistakable sound of air moving through a small hole. I shook the second can, and it started to do the same. No obvious signs of rust on the can, but when I peeled the label there was corrosion along the welded seal. So watch for this!
