Posted: 9/29/2007 7:33:27 PM EDT
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Thought I'd throw this out there. I'm sure I'm not the first. *legal disclaimer* Don't try this at home. May cause gas, vomiting, earthquakes, and tornados. I found a can of Chef Boyardee Raveoli (sp?) dated Best before June 2006. Oops. September, hell almost October 07. Opened it and ate it. Looked OK, tasted OK. I'm not really a big fan of this stuff, more for the kids but hey, I was alone last night and there wasn't much in the house. Anyway, don't get too excited if your preps expire. Just try to rotate them into the menu. Thought some of you would like to know. 
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Expiration dates on most canned goods are only the starting point. In almost every case, you're fine eating the stuff a year or five after the expiration date. There will be a bit less nutrition and it might not taste quite as good, but it certainly won't hurt you. The one possible exception might be acidic foods, which might include the ravioli because of the tomato sauce, but even then it's almost not an issue and so long as the can is intact it's probably just fine many years after the expiration date. ETA: I'm not really sure about canned liquid milk products. I'd have no problem drinking one that was two or three years past the expiration date if it smelled okay, though. |
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Just this year we used cans of beans for chili that were originally put in the pantry in 2001, no problems. We just give everything the smell test before cooking it up, if the cans are in good shape with no rust or bulging, its generally fine. On the other hand, if I even suspect that something may be borderline it gets pitched. Actual mileage may vary, so be careful. As with everything these days, legal disclaimer: Eat at your own risk. c0 98% of the population is asleep. The other 2% are staring around in complete amazement, abject terror, or both. falloutshelter653.org |
right, good rule of thumb undamaged cans, food should be fine...last week I opened and ate a beef stew product from Aldis, dated 2001 |
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This is always an amusing topic to those of us alive before expiration dates. In those days, our expiration date was our common sense and our senses. It was as simple as if its spoiled, don't eat it. If the can is bulged, don't open it. If it doesn't smell right, don't eat it. If it looks bad, don't eat it. If it tastes funny, don't eat it. Our senses were trained the hard way often, but it worked. I worry sometimes that expiration dates have done more harm than good. They were the first legislated "People are stupid so the government needs to protect them" measure. Instead of protecting us, in many ways, it has taken away the natural tools most of us had to protect ourselves. There simply isn't no magic number on when foods spoil. There are all kinds of variables including if contaminated, how much, and how it is stored. That means if you pick a number its going to be way conservative more than not. When I was a child, I don't think a kid in America didn't grow up hearing, "There's children starving in India that would give anything for this food so clean your plate." Now I think of the starving children in the Sudan and think of how much perfectly good food we each and everyone one of us throws out due to expiration dates. Times sure have changed. Tj |