Confirmed Food Life - Personal Experience In Long Term Storage

I have all sorts of stuff you can keep in original packaging, as long as you have a dry basement and run a dehumidifier in the summer. Oatmeal, grits, powdered mash potatoes, jelly, peanut butter, glass jar pasta sauce, sugar, flour, pasta, mac & cheese, jiffy corn bread, jello, tea bags, etc
 
Old Fashioned Oats. Big Y brand. Bought September 2012. Stored on shelf in basement in only the original can. Not in a bin. Just opened and made some cookies. Still good, can't tell the difference from the fresh ones we made with brand new ingredients at same time.

ETA - bottom of container says best if used by Jan 22, 2014

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I grab 10 cans of Quaker Oats, seal them in mylar with O2 eaters, then in HD buckets. Have about 20lbs
 
Watch it on the peanut butter.

I had some that was buggy. Admittedly, I'm not good on rotation of that as it goes so quickly so, it may or may not have been a jar with some years on it....though, if it was old, I doubt it had more than two years on it.

-didn't check the date as I heaved it into the trash.
 
In a FIFO rotation issue, I found a Jiff peanut butter with a Aug of 2015 BB date.
Other than some oil separation at the top it is indistinguishable from unexpired
Some brands separate more than others. I Store PB upside down, then just let it stand upright for a bit before use.
 
In a FIFO rotation issue, I found a Jiff peanut butter with a Aug of 2015 BB date.
Other than some oil separation at the top it is indistinguishable from unexpired
The thread is long and didnt read it all. I am guessing someone already said this ... but "sell by" and "best by" dates dont mean anything. Those are manufacturer dates that they want you to use the product by because they know it will still taste good. Their goal is for you to like what you eat so you buy more.

Billions of pounds of food are wasted each year in the U.S because people dont understand that.
 
The thread is long and didnt read it all. I am guessing someone already said this ... but "sell by" and "best by" dates dont mean anything. Those are manufacturer dates that they want you to use the product by because they know it will still taste good. Their goal is for you to like what you eat so you buy more.

Billions of pounds of food are wasted each year in the U.S because people dont understand that.
Including my wife. Drives me fing nuts.
 
The thread is long and didnt read it all. I am guessing someone already said this ... but "sell by" and "best by" dates dont mean anything. Those are manufacturer dates that they want you to use the product by because they know it will still taste good. Their goal is for you to like what you eat so you buy more.

Billions of pounds of food are wasted each year in the U.S because people dont understand that.

The point of this thread is to see how far the best by/sell by numbers are off with actual experience.

As my lazy-assed family often sucks at rotating stock and following FIFO, I often find older (for me) food that I am usually unwilling to throw away. So if I see something 'expired', it will at least get tried.
 
My wife grabbed a box of mre components at the town transfer station last week. Peanut butter, crackers, jam, freeze dried pears and fruit cocktail as well as 2 of the extremely rare chocolate snack bar. Date of manufacture? 1993 baby. All tasted like new
 
Antibiotics kept in the freezer in a freezer Ziploc. Used them 5 years after their expiration date for an infected tooth. It knocked down the infection like the antibiotics were picked up yesterday. Went to the dentist and he gave me more! ;)
 
Antibiotics kept in the freezer in a freezer Ziploc. Used them 5 years after their expiration date for an infected tooth. It knocked down the infection like the antibiotics were picked up yesterday. Went to the dentist and he gave me more! ;)
Nice! Was that freezer with or without a defrost cycle? Antibiotics in tablet or capsule form? O2 absorber? Inquiring minds want to know. 🤓
 
No defrost cycle on the freezer. I have tablets and capsules. When I get the prescription filled, I put the container in a freezer Ziploc and add it to the shelf. That's it. I have several doses in there. One from 2010!
 
No defrost cycle on the freezer. I have tablets and capsules. When I get the prescription filled, I put the container in a freezer Ziploc and add it to the shelf. That's it. I have several doses in there. One from 2010!
I was always told not to store meds at extreme temps, or in humid environments. Good to know a non-defrosting freezer does the job!
 
I do not disagree with anyone here on this subject, BUT I have heard about botulism. It sounds like scary stuff. I assume the biggest concern there is around canned foods. From the CDC " You cannot see, smell, or taste botulinum toxin – but taking even a small taste of food containing this toxin can be deadly."

Prevent Botulism

Every few years I review my longterm food storage items. This year was the first year I tossed canned items. Stuff that was two or three years out of date went into the garbage. It felt wasteful but I'm not playing games. I try my best to keep things in the food rotation to avoid problems and eat what I buy..
 
You don't need to store antibiotics in freezer. On the shelf in reasonable temps is fine. Studies show 80%+ efficacy maintained after 2 years at room temp.

Also if you want to store meds, just buy pet meds like FishMox. It's made in the same facilities, you just don't need gov permission or FDA pricetag to buy it. You can get any mainstream antibiotic this way.
 
If there is botulism in your food, it was there before the expiration date. Physics being what it is, diseases dont just magically appear in foods stored in air tight cans.

Now if you have a can with a bulge or corrosion, go ahead and chuck it.
 
I do not disagree with anyone here on this subject, BUT I have heard about botulism. It sounds like scary stuff. I assume the biggest concern there is around canned foods. From the CDC " You cannot see, smell, or taste botulinum toxin – but taking even a small taste of food containing this toxin can be deadly."

Prevent Botulism

Every few years I review my longterm food storage items. This year was the first year I tossed canned items. Stuff that was two or three years out of date went into the garbage. It felt wasteful but I'm not playing games. I try my best to keep things in the food rotation to avoid problems and eat what I buy..
The link above is about home-canned foods. I think it's important to make a distinction between canned goods made in the home and commercial canned goods. The risk is nowhere near the same.
 
An interesting one to add.

Nov 2013 Cambells family size chicken noodle soup. Opened and smelled off. Can was not bulged. upon dumping can out found corrosion along the seam on inside.

Grabbed and older can, same Cambells Family Chicken noodle soup from February 2010. This can was fine upon opening and tasted normal.

Reminder to trust your nose first and always inspect the inside of the can before consuming. Every can I open I rinse clean with hot water and visually inspect for any signs of internal corrosion.
 
Chicken broth. Two 16oz cans from March 2011 and two from Jan 2014. All no good.

The 2011 cans has clear black ring on the inner lip of the can when removed. This indicates mold intrusion.

The 2014 had no visible defects but both had a metallic smell to them.

Dumped them all. Going forward I'm not going to keep them more than 2 years. Seems the cans aren't holding up to the liquid as seen in other things like tomatoes.
 
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