Posted: 5/9/2010 12:28:16 PM EDT
| Who is right? When I check with the commercial suppliers of long term food, I find that they are selling gallon cans of the same product that Sams club sells but advertising that they will last 5-10 times what is on the labels. Also what is properly stored, frozen, kept dry or what? |
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There are a couple of other threads regarding this. Loads of information. You'll have to go back a month or so, though.
The gist is that the expiration dates on cans in regular retail stores have more to do with sales goals and FOL (fear of lawyers) than any actual expectation that the food might go bad. There have been instances where canned goods have been found intact dating back to the 1850s, opened, tested, and found to retain all nutritional values without being unsafe for human consumption (though, to the best of my knowledge, they did not find anybody brave enough to actually eat any of it) Cool, dry, dark seems to be the rule. As close to freezing as possible without actually freezing. Cans kept in root (fruit) cellars at around 55 degrees Fahrenheit seem to age very well, and some Arfcommers report eating stuff closing on ten years old with no imminent death noted So long as the can remains completely intact (no blown seams, rust, puffed out lids), the stuff seems to be nearly immortal, though flavors and appearance seem to suffer. |