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How long can canned goods be stored for? fsis.usda.gov
"In general, high-acid canned foods such as tomatoes, grapefruit, and pineapple can be stored on the shelf 12 to 18 months; low-acid canned foods such as meat, poultry, fish, and most vegetables will keep 2 to 5 years, if the can remains in good condition and has been stored in a cool, clean, dry place." (10/31/2006)
That said, my daughter tosses stuff a lot earlier than I do. The date is a "best by" not "only good to" date.
If the can isn't bulging or dented, and when pierced you get that "whoosh" sound I figure it's safe to test taste for use.
I pretty much throw them out if it's more than a month out of date, just to be safe. I remember that some of the canned food on the U.S.S. Saratoga, back in the 70's, was decades old and they were still using it. Still, I'm playing it safe!
I buy canned food so rarely that it never has a chance to expire before it's used or donated. When I buy it I almost always have a specific use in mind for it, i.e. can of chickpeas to make hummus or can of Ro-Tel to make queso dip.
I used to keep a camping stash of stuff in my car, including some canned foods. After a few years, they had all been frozen and thawed about 100 times, and things like green beans don't have a very nice mouth feel after that, but they're still safe to eat.
Last week I ate a four year old can of tamales, more than a year after expiration date, and they were fine. The can bulged slightly.
The "best by" date means "We will not guarantee freshness of a product after this date." That's all it means.
I pretty much throw them out if it's more than a month out of date, just to be safe. I remember that some of the canned food on the U.S.S. Saratoga, back in the 70's, was decades old and they were still using it. Still, I'm playing it safe!
Dont throw them out. Please donate them. They are just fine. Lots of hungry people will appreciate it.
A common standard for me is no more than one year after the "best by" date. If the can is dented, I am skeptical after 6 months. If you have ever had food poisoning, you know that $.99 cents just 'aint worth the trouble! Now, that comment does not mean that is what will happen. It is just a personal standard that I choose to follow.
The company doesn't make any guarantees after the expiration date. Actually the expiration date on most food items means stores can no longer sell them. The food is most times safe to eat after the date as long as the container is not damaged.
I home can and I rotate my pantry and still used things that have been canned for 5 years safely.
Until the expiration date only. There is a reason why it is there.
Even something that can be preserved for years in a can (ok, no light or air, but God knows with which kind of preservatives too) has an expiration date, and I am not sure why ones chooses to ignore that.
If one consumes any product after the expiration date, even if it "is just fine", one has to understand one does it on one's own.
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they are ok..
