Question
Can you use canned food such as soups and vegetables past their use by date and if so how far past can you use them. How long does home canned fruits keep their nutional value?
Answer(s)
Shelf life dates are created for two reasons (a) safety and (b) quality. As long as the cans are sealed and have not been subjected to high heat or freezing, they will remain commercially sterile and safe. Quality is a different story. The quality shelf life is set by the manufacturer. It is usually the date when the food no longer tastes as good as the original. After the shelf life date certain foods will still retain quality and others will not. You will have to sample some to find out. After opening visually check the food and smell the contents. If anything looks out of the ordinary, discard it. I opened a five year old can of mushrooms packed in water and they smelled awful. It was a chemical degradation of the mushroom. Similarly, I opened a six year old can of pears in lite brine. They were exceptional. Most canned foods will retain all of their nutritional value (calories, protein, minerals), except vitamins. Most likely all of the vitamins degraded and will not offer nutritional benefit. Cooperative Extension recommends that you store canned goods for less than five years.
Other Questions In This Topic
- I've read that dry pack food storage products expire within x amount of years depending on the product. My parents purchased a LARGE quantity (over 100 cases of #10 cans) of assorted dry pack 28 years ago from Desert Supply Company; wheat, cornmeal, powdered milk, eggs, instant potatoes etc. I'm having a hard time coming to terms with throwing it all out. Can you please confirm that this is wasted product or is there anything salvagable.. and if so for how much longer would it be good? It has been stored in a dry/dark cool basement.
- I am trying to use flour that has been stores for about 30 years. It looks ok and tastes like flour but I have baked two loaves and they will not raise. they taste ok but how nutritional would they be?
- I just inherited a pressure canner. It's pretty well used and I'm a little nervous about using it. I've never done pressure canning before. Is there a place where I can get it checked out for safety, and how do I learn how to use it.
- I just prepared pesto today containing basil, pine nuts, garlic, italian cheeses, and lemon juice, pretty much in that order from largest quantity to smallest. For how long could I keep this in my freezer before the oil will go rancid or the pesto will otherwise be inedible. Seems to me that I kept some a while back for 6 months, and after eating it I got sick, though this could be coincidental.
- Where should I put my food storage?
- I grew up eating green beans which were pressure-canned at home. When my mother heated them for a meal, she brought them to a boil then removed the lid and let them boil for at least a minute with the lid off. She said this was necessary to be safe. Is it necessary or was that just something passed down from before pressure canning was available?
- How long does pectin keep if the box has not been opened?
- I have tried pressure canning chicken 4 times now. I've done 2 batches cooked chicken and 2 batches raw chicken. All 4 times most of the water cooked out of the jars. Is this supposed to happen and is the chicken safe for us to eat?