I've posted several times here about the shelf life of regualar canned goods. Contrary to some beliefs, my own research has shown that canned goods offer good intermediate term storage (5 years) for most foods. That is just taste and texture; actually, the food itself has an almost indefinate shelf life.

Well, a few days ago I decided to test my research and opened up a can of Tuna from 2003 that I had bought when I first started prepping. Being a cautious soul, I first made sure the can was intact and the smell and appearance were good, which they were. So, I took a few small bites and you know what...it was fine. There was a slight breakdown in the firmness of the tuna, ever so slight and certainly not enough to make it anything less than a decent can of tuna.

I also drank some EnSure that was 4 years old, and it was fine too. A little clumping near the top, and a slight degradation in taste, but still well within the definition of good and edible.

All items were stored in my basement. Temp was between 65-70degF year round. Humidity between 50-70%.

Now I know I should be rotating, but the problem is i'm a prepper and my wife thinks I'm nuts. So, we basically have two pantrys...her day to day one and my basebent SHTF one. Never the twain do meet. We agree on most else, esp. Jesus!

I opened a can of tuna last month that expired in 2005. It had a slightly metalic taste, but that was easily covered with pepper, mayonaise, relish, and eggs.

i got a massage using a tube of expired in 2003 icy-hot last night and it was great.

I've found pasta in just it's normal supermarket cardboard box has a very long shelf life as well.

I've been eating ziti from 2003 the last couple days, and it boils up as good as new boxed pasta. I did nothing special, just stored it on the shelf. I'm guessing it'd last many years without degradation in a dry cabinet.

I have had mixed results with canned Raviloli...I had found the meat a bit dried out is stuff that is 2 and 3 years old. It doesn't tast all that shit hot either. I would eat it if need be.

i ate some walmart brand spam from 99 a few months ago, it was yummy

AMEN!

Glad I found this thread, am a bit new to the prepping game... gonna hit a wholesaler in the next few weeks and canned goods, beans and honey are the first on the list to acquire.

Good on you guys for sharin the info. Much appreciated.

I have used expired canned goods, they were all fine. We now are working together and rotating food. Oh and the pantry o larger, like 3Xs.

Great post ..canned goods have a good shelf life just remember rotate,rotate...i concur pasta seems to have a almost indefinite shelf life. thats why my preps have plenty of it. Its a no fail prep item. Just recently went to the buckets and mylars for bulk goods..rice,beans dry milk,cornmeal and flour. got a big problem with weevils getting to the stuff stored in the paper bags. i will open within a year and reseal to check how they hold up.

Not just Spam, but decade old, Walmart brand spam! The rejected, leftover stuff Hormel refused to put their name on!

I hate to admit it but I actually like grilled Spam-n-cheese sammiches.

Well I hate to say this but her pantry and yours need to meet and merge. One of the worst things in life one can do is waste food and that is what you are setting yourself up for. So try to merge the two pantrys for everyones sake.

As a kid ,we ate canned goods regularly that were 15-20years old.
Some,who knows!
My folks grew up during the Depression and NOTHING got thrown out!
Also, had LOTS of canned goods under the house.
(there is STILL homemade hooch down there my Dad made right after he got back from WWII-that I AIN'T trying)
I'm still kicking,so canned goods must've been alright.

"Best by" doesn't mean it's no good the day after the expiration date. I don't remember where I saw it, but I read an article recently that talked quite a bit about expiration dates and there's evidently quite a bit of cushion before even the flavor would be affected.

I've gotten in the habit of looking at the best by dates over the past few months and it's kind of interesting how much longer some things last than others. Soup and canned fruit seem to be some of the longest at around 2+ years. One that kind of surprised me is canned salmon is good for 5 years. Dry noodles are good for several years. Sugar supposedly lasts forever.

Someone mentioned cooking it even if it smells bad. That's wrong. Botulism produces a heat stable toxin that isn't affected by cooking. Very nasty stuff. If it smells bad or if the can is bloated, don't eat it.