How Long will Canned Food Really Last

[Art]

This fellow has a channel where he tries military rations from all over the world. Apparently there is nothing he won't try. As one comment says, the last battle of the Boer War was fought in Steve's stomach.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZoHuMwZwTk

Boiling it for an hour was probably a good idea.

[lyman]

that guy does some great vids,




one thing to consider,

dating food is a relatively new idea, as in the past 40 yrs or so,

when I was an apprentice, the lunchmeats etc had a best if used by (not consume by) date, that may have just been a month, and year, depending on the brand,
and a lot would just say good up to 7 days after opening,

most canned food just had a lot number and julian date of when it was canned,


now,, every thing has a date on it,

- - - Updated - - -

that guy does some great vids,




one thing to consider,

dating food is a relatively new idea, as in the past 40 yrs or so,

when I was an apprentice, the lunchmeats etc had a best if used by (not consume by) date, that may have just been a month, and year, depending on the brand,
and a lot would just say good up to 7 days after opening,

most canned food just had a lot number and julian date of when it was canned,


now,, every thing has a date on it,

[JimF]

?How long will canned food really last? . . . .

Well, if my Dad was still with us, he?d tell us . . . .?near-forever?!

He never wanted to visit his sister, ?cause she would serve up SPAM at mealtime . . . .consistently!!

Can?t say I?d blame him!

[barretcreek]

It'll be safe long after it is no longer palatable. Knocked down some sardines ten years out of date. Cans weren't swollen, didn't smell bad and the dog tore into his. Just weren't tasty.

[dogtag]

I think it was in the sixties some hardy souls opened and ate some canned food from WW1 - it was still edible.
Probably little nourishment left but if you were hungry enough, so what.

[Major Tom]

Back in the day, cans were soldered together with lead. That lead would leach into the food inside. For that reason my grandparents never ever ate food from a can!

[tmark]

Watch Monday's tv show Inside Edition. It will tell how long canned soups will last.

[RicM]

This website pretty much tells it all about canned good and all other food. You will find it quite informing!

https://stilltasty.com/

[togor]

If the Spam has turned grey, don't eat it. Even if it doesn't smell funny.

[High Plaines Doug r]

The oldest USA C-rations I was issued in 1969-70 was 1957. Maybe "Ham and Limas". I've had worse and I'm still here. My dad gave me a pkg of LRRPs from before he got out in 1972. I opened it in the 1990's but decided not serve it to any humans.

[lyman]

The oldest USA C-rations I was issued in 1969-70 was 1957. Maybe "Ham and Limas". I've had worse and I'm still here. My dad gave me a pkg of LRRPs from before he got out in 1972. I opened it in the 1990's but decided not serve it to any humans.

I picked up a few cases of C rats, and some LRRP stuff in an estate a few year ago,
despite the fact that some of the C rats were old,, they sold readily on ebay,


a friend was at the shot one day while I was taking pics and doing the descriptions of some VN era LRRP stuff, and decide he wanted to try one,
don't recall the flavor, but he is a VN vet (Marine)

he told me he heated etc per directions on the bag, and it was as bad as he remembered,,,,

that gave me a chuckle, and him

[PaFrank]

we had about 5 cases of 1944 C-rats up at the place when i used to hunt.. One of the guys kept breaking in to them for the cigarettes.. that opened the door for everything else.. the peanut butter wa ok, and so were the canned peaches. I forget what all else was in there, but it all got eaten and nobody died! maybe all the alcohol that went down with it protected us..

[dogtag]

Acidic foods such as tomatos don't last long