[Johnny redhorse]

While going thru our long term food storage today I realized that there are some foods that doesn’t store well long term.
Like lemon juice and parmalat milk , I’m thinking there must be more. I’d like to make a list of last minute purchase items. Any help would be appreciated

 

[the labyrinth]

Kind of depends on what you consider to be Long Term, and depends on what you like to eat.

I don't consider Freezer or Fridge. Figure, power out, it's the first to be used up. Probably a good month plus in there to start from. Little generator should last that long...

SHELF STUFF
I have 3 levels.

The Less than 1 year Pantry,
BUT it has 6 months worth of food that I TRY really hard to rotate. Including my GOSSNER milk from Dollar Tree good for 12 month shelf life and NUTS of any kind, which get funky and then turn rancid. Peanut M&Ms are nasty once they get old, lol

The 2-5 year level.
Canned goods, Keystone Meats. Extra jars of peanut butter, canned regular butter, canned cheese, tuna... stuff like that.
All those little mix things in a pouch like Stove Top, Mac N Cheese, Ramen Noodles, Cake Mixes, Ketchup, etc.

The 10-30 year stuff.
Dry Goods mostly. LDS #10 cans. 5 gal pails from Emergency Essentials and Augason Farms. Mountain House stuff, which the recently re-rated to 50 years if stored correctly.

SO... what area are you asking about?

 

[2ftgd]

What do you consider long term?

Pretty much any oil is not good LTS unless frozen. This includes oily foods like peanut butter.

LOL - posted at same time.

 

[Johnny redhorse]

Kind of depends on what you consider to be Long Term, and depends on what you like to eat.

I don't consider Freezer or Fridge. Figure, power out, it's the first to be used up. Probably a good month plus in there to start from. Little generator should last that long...

SHELF STUFF
I have 3 levels.

The Less than 1 year Pantry,
BUT it has 6 months worth of food that I TRY really hard to rotate. Including my GOSSNER milk from Dollar Tree good for 12 month shelf life and NUTS of any kind, which get funky and then turn rancid. Peanut M&Ms are nasty once they get old, lol

The 2-5 year level.
Canned goods, Keystone Meats. Extra jars of peanut butter, canned regular butter, canned cheese, tuna... stuff like that.
All those little mix things in a pouch like Stove Top, Mac N Cheese, Ramen Noodles, Cake Mixes, Ketchup, etc.

The 10-30 year stuff.
Dry Goods mostly. LDS #10 cans. 5 gal pails from Emergency Essentials and Augason Farms. Mountain House stuff, which the recently re-rated to 50 years if stored correctly.

SO... what area are you asking about?

My food storage is like yours three layers.
I’m thinking about the 2-5 and 10 plus stores.
My idea is if shtf what foods would you buy that have a short shelf life that you don’t have

 

[the labyrinth]

I'd grab the things that are going to crash out, like cooking oils etc.

Get the newest date I could, giving the longest shelf life.
I LOVE peanut butter, but I found that I have better inventory control if I buy smaller jars rather than the 5 lb giant ones. The smaller ones Tend to stay fresh longer.
OH, and yeast. FRESH JAR (not packets) of yeast, thrown into the freezer.

PET FOOD. I rotate 3 month of kibble for the Fur Faces. Beyond that and the oils start to get funky. Especially in summer. Winter, seems to last longer.

Maybe Coffee & Flour? I've never had a problem with 7 yr old cans of coffee, but some people might. Same with flour. I guess it gets old, but I've never had issues with stuff 3 yrs old on the shelf. HOWEVER, I Have had issues with bad yeast, won't rise.

 

[Johnny redhorse]

I'd grab the things that are going to crash out, like cooking oils etc.

Get the newest date I could, giving the longest shelf life.
I LOVE peanut butter, but I found that I have better inventory control if I buy smaller jars rather than the 5 lb giant ones. The smaller ones Tend to stay fresh longer.
OH, and yeast. FRESH JAR (not packets) of yeast, thrown into the freezer.

PET FOOD. I rotate 3 month of kibble for the Fur Faces. Beyond that and the oils start to get funky. Especially in summer. Winter, seems to last longer.

Maybe Coffee & Flour? I've never had a problem with 7 yr old cans of coffee, but some people might. Same with flour. I guess it gets old, but I've never had issues with stuff 3 yrs old on the shelf. HOWEVER, I Have had issues with bad yeast, won't rise.

Coffee and flour are in the 10 year rotation.
Peanut butter and dog food are covered.
Yeast !!! Good idea live off grid on solar so freezer not a problem

 

[Boondox]

Canned fruits and greens

 

[Johnny redhorse]

Canned fruits and greens

Wife does canning from the garden every year
So that’s covered

 

[John Matherson]

Peanut Butter powder gents, lasts 5 years....at least the Augason Farms brand does.

 

[fotog]

3 levels here as well. "Daily" pantry has some items definitely already "years" old...like spices and macaroni, etc.

The stores have the typical use items from sauces, coffee, canned goods, etc.

The long term stores have Oats, Honey, Sugar, Salt, Pasta, plus some 5-10 years items like canned meats/fish.

I too use lemon juice. Daily. Have about 10 bottles in stores. Good for almost a year.

 

[film495]

potato flakes, Bob's Red Mill ...

 

[charliemeyer007]

Vitamins and other supplements, some meds, not really long term storage IMHO.. A lot of the little packets of stuff like alcohol pads dry out, some sooner than others.

 

[Johnny redhorse]

^^^^^^^^^ those are the things I’m talking about alcohol pads, wet wipes etc.
Things that don’t store long time we’ll. My plan is when things start looking bad I’ll start stocking up on those.
I know ,I know , things aremm be already looking bad ☹☹☹

 

[Illini Warrior]

long term is 5 years and up - most of the food coming off the retail shelf will last that long - forget the dumbazz expire dates involved >>>

the items you use regular are your pantry expansion items - it should be your very first step - get it out there a couple of months and rotate it in an organized manner .....

 

[Johnny redhorse]

long term is 5 years and up - most of the food coming off the retail shelf will last that long - forget the dumbazz expire dates involved >>>

the items you use regular are your pantry expansion items - it should be your very first step - get it out there a couple of months and rotate it in an organized manner .....

Understand. My preps are way beyond that first step. We been living an off grid life for more than a decade, and prepping for more than 30 years.
Looking for items that have a very short shelf life to buy last minute.

 

[Mrs.sardog]

We have found that things in boxes and bags, seasoned rice, stuffing mixes, etc. draw moisture after a year or so and get hard. Can still be used if broken up but a lot harder to.

 

[Johnny redhorse]

We have found that things in boxes and bags, seasoned rice, stuffing mixes, etc. draw moisture after a year or so and get hard. Can still be used if broken up but a lot harder to.

I try to vacuum seal that kind of stuff sometimes it works better than others

 

[2ftgd]

Fuel, depending on what you use. Gas, diesel, kero. For equipment, cars, lamps, etc.

 

[Mark Brooks]

long term is 5 years and up - most of the food coming off the retail shelf will last that long - forget the dumbazz expire dates involved >>>

the items you use regular are your pantry expansion items - it should be your very first step - get it out there a couple of months and rotate it in an organized manner .....

This is so true. Some products with long shelf life are "best used by", not a real "expiration date". It means product has its qualities at peak by "said date", doesn't mean its spoiled after.

 

[film495]

This is so true. Some products with long shelf life are "best used by", not a real "expiration date". It means product has its qualities at peak by "said date", doesn't mean its spoiled after.

I think it is a guarantee the quality will be exactly the same on day 1 as on the best bye date. So, if that is two or three years, and it is guaranteed by the producer to be the exact same quality. One can reasonably figure that the product if the package is in good condition, will most likely last exponentially longer. Most product have no expiration date on them at all, so - the best bye date, has zero to do with expiration as far as I understand.