The ravioli and fish balls expired last year, the pasta packets are dusty. Just as good to throw, right? No, the food we bunkered a few years ago is mostly still good to eat.
First of all, you shouldn’t stare blindly at the best before date, explains Jonas Toljander, who is a risk and benefit assessor at the Swedish Food Agency.
— It has nothing to do with whether the food is edible or not, but is more a quality mark from the manufacturer. Until that date, you can expect the product to retain its original quality, with taste, smell, color and texture.
— But canned goods and dry goods can be edible many years after the best before date.
It is also not dangerous to eat food out of a dented can as long as it is tight. But if it is leaking, bacteria may have grown in it, or oxygen may have entered which caused the tin to dissolve from the inside, which can cause stomach upset.
Can rule
Just as with other food, look, smell, taste is what counts. But it can happen that the food tastes bad even if it is not directly dangerous to eat. Fat in meat can go rancid, even if it’s in a can or in the freezer.
— It is not a microbiological process but a chemical process and makes it taste bad. Then you can refrain from eating it.
In addition to preserves and dry goods, juice and jam also usually have a long shelf life.
— Purchased preserves last a very long time, even home-made preserves can last a long time if you have made them the right way.
Jonas Toljander emphasizes that it is important to follow proven recipes when making your own pickles. Recently, the Swedish Food Agency drew attention to the fact that there are several recipes online for oil infusions that can cause the life-threatening botulism poisoning.
Ask about storage
Some goods have an almost unlimited shelf life, for example honey and dry pasta. But it is also a matter of how to store the food.
— For many canned goods and dry goods, you can extend the shelf life if you keep them dry and cool. Then they last better than if it is humid and warm.
A general piece of advice to keep the food in the prepper pantry up to date is otherwise to buy things you normally eat so that you can rotate the items.
— Then you can use what you have. You take the oldest cans first and fill with new ones from the store.