[Brother Bear]

the recent wind storm left my family with out power for five days.
and well the first two we went out to eat, but that was to expensive
so we got ice and hot dogs and various processed meats lol. and
just cooked on a fire for the rest of the time. but now my dad suggested having a disaster kit and then i told him i alredy had one, but then he says he would fund to make it better. now all i need to know is how long canned foods last.

 

[Brother Buck]

Well, that's a good thing then Pugs.
Now the only challenge is to keep them interested.
Be creative with that....adults have something of a short attention span. :

 

[jfountain2]

most canned foods have a use by date on them.
a lot of people will tell you as long as the can isn't opened or it does't start to bulge or swell up the stuff in the can is still good. I haven't tested that theory yet.

congrats on getting the parents to listen.

 

[contact00]

I've started spending some time in the grocery store reading all the labels... some brands only have computer coded dates, others give it in human readable form - personally I only buy ones that have human readable expiry dates. Canned goods are probably good beyond their expiry dates, but best to rotate from the food you eat so they are always fresh :thumb:

Good job on being prepped even when your parents weren't

 

[JoeInSTL]

Take your parents out shopping right away, while the thought is still fresh.

 

[Brother Bear]

i will tommarrow

 

[Paulycracker]

Does someone have that link to understanding the date codes on packages? I seem to have remembered seeing it someplace but can't find it. That might be helpful.

Just make sure that you store the food at a constant temp. It lasts longer that way without the rises and falls.

 

[Ric_Knight]

Well, that's a good thing then Pugs.
Now the only challenge is to keep them interested.
Be creative with that....adults have something of a short attention span. :

What do you mean we have a short atten...Hey, did you see the new G1 Google phone?...:

 

[Brother Buck]

Does someone have that link to understanding the date codes on packages? I seem to have remembered seeing it someplace but can't find it. That might be helpful.

Just make sure that you store the food at a constant temp. It lasts longer that way without the rises and falls.

Try this to start with.

 

[Ric_Knight]

The usual rule that I hear and follow is no more then a year. I have yet to get sick from canned food in that time frame and I have eaten them.

You really start to lose the taste before that point so my usual rotation is 4 to 6 months.

 

[AlexH]

I work at a grocery store. We tell people that canned food will usually last about a year if kept at room temperature or colder.

 

[kingjames]

Try this to start with.

Thats better than the one I have. Thanks


But here it is any way.

http://www.y2kkitchen.com/html/can_code_decoder.html

 

[mgd_only]

right on pugsrok i rotate my canned goods out every 6 months buy what you eat but buy double in canned goods put half away and then the next time you buy you eat the oldest stuff first. also i buy lots of rice it pretty much stays good forever if its white polished rice. good job on raising your parental units by the way

 

[Dwind]

Great, kid, don't get cocky.

Seriously though- I can garantee that you put a smile on your dad's face by being ready for something before he was. Just don't show him that shenk.

 

[birdman]

... now all i need to know is how long canned foods last.

Way to go Pugs...

I keep canned veggies for about 2 years and have never had a problem. The canned meats etc seem to have legible dates on them and most "expire" between 1 and 2 years from date of purchase. As mentioned put food you normally eat in the "kit" and eat from the kit, but replace what you've consumed...

Allan -- OBTW did you get to show off you hobo stove???

 

[DownInABunker]

Same here: I showed my wife articles about gas shortages, told her how this can affect the food supply, and as a result she no longer smirks when I buy more food to be put in reserves. She actually said "It's a good thing we have food in the basement".

 

[Scruggs]

There are many threads in here regarding the storage life of canned foods but I am no good at searching for threads. 3 years in a cool cellar has been my maximum for many years now and we have never had any problems with that timespan. No loss of taste and no spoilage problems.

 

[Porcupine]

Dear Pugsrock,

I have it on good word from Heloise, the Goddess of Home Economics, that canned goods generally last at least 18 months after the expiration date at room temperature, 2-3 years in a cool, dry place like a basement or root cellar, or longer if refrigerated. As long as the can is not bulging and there are no signs of bad smell, taste, or appearance, it should be all right.

I also recall reading in either The Guinness Book of World Records or in Ripley's Believe It Or Not that someone in the early 1900s found a can of corned beef that dated back to the Napoleonic Era that was still intact and still edible.

Russian scientists also found a 20,000-year-old Wooly Mammoth intact and frozen in the ice of Siberia. They cooked and sampled some of its meat and, while the taste was very dry, the animal's meat was still edible.

I hope that is helpful. Best of wishes on preparing in our "interesting times."

 

[Wingless]

Hey Pugs, good going with being patient.

I have eaten canned chili that had expired 5 years. It was fine and tasted great.

If a can is bulging don't even open it. Tasting or even smelling something with botulism can make you very sick...or dead.

 

[AAPEXX]

awesome pugs! have you told you dad to join the site? good luck continuing the prepping