How long do these things actually last before going bad? Like, are they something that will last forever or something that will go bad after 3-5 years?
My wife made taco soup today using black beans that were expired oct-08. Tasted great to me. I wouldn't use that as a reason not to rotate; we had stored a bunch of stuff under our king-size bed and forgotten about it until last month.
From what I have read on this board is the beans last a good 5 - 10 years past the date on the can. The date is when they are best by and something like a dent in the can can cause the food to go bad in a few years so store dent free cans. If you dent the can, move it to the front of the rotation and eat it. I am not storing anything I wont use in the next few years with the exception of a few extra thousand rounds of .22's.
Canned goods never actually spoil or turn rotten as long as the can remains sealed. The can inside is sterile and as long as there's no pinhole or something to allow bacteria in, it will remain safe to eat. Think storage life in decades. However, over time the texture will change and flavors will become bland.
The "best by" dates on the cans are not expiration dates. They're dates that the product is considered to be just as good as when it left the factory, even under less than idea storage temperatures. The beans will be plenty tasty and healthy for several years after that. 5 year or more easily. Longer if you don't mind spicing them up a bit to compensate for lost texture and flavor.
And not to be too much of a jerk, but this has been posted about a zillion times here. The search feature will help you find a lot of your answers. Just be sure to go to advanced search and select "posts" instead of "threads" to reduce the number of wrong hits that you get.
I had a can of Beef-a-roni on a shelf in the shop for, oh maybe 10 years.
One afternoon, I popped a couple vent holes in it, heated it on the exhaust manifold of the tractor and ate it.
It was just as 'good' as the 'fresh' stuff.
I've actually called a few companies and asked them the same thing. They all pretty much told me exactly what everbody is saying. You should also make sure not to store them in really hot conditions. Some items loose some of their nutritional value too. I guess it would be a judgement call based on how hungry you were. It's easier to keep a list of foods you have and their dates, check your list every month and when something's coming up on expiring, buy new stuff and work the old into your meals.
I have often heard that canned goods remain edible for incredibly long periods, just as Mike K mentioned, but the nutrient levels breakdown overtime. Were still talking a very long time. TP
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