Eating Expired Food

Eating Expired foods is a topic that comes up often in the survival community. Some of you are terrified of the though. Others, like myself, could care less. Eating expired food is not a worry of mine for several reasons. Some personal reasons and some proven science.

Before we get into the meat of this article I have a few warnings. First a disclaimer. I’m no doctor. I am not advising you to eat expired food. I present this article as information. I will share some studies, personal experience and thoughts. Do with it what you will.

Expiration Dates

Expiration dates are not magical numbers. Food does not turn rancid the day of or after that date. It is more there to guarantee freshness than spoilage. Food manufacturers want to present the best product they can. That ensures sales. Food quality degrades over time. They get mushy and lose flavor. Nutrient value also declines over time. From a sales point of view thats bad.

Companies also want to cover their butts. They know for a fact that the food is good and of a high quality up to a certain point. Putting a expiration date on the can removes liability from them. Also is forces store to purchase new stock. Stores have to pull stock that has expired. Forcing them to purchase new stock.

In some cases that food is donated to food banks before it has to be destroyed. In other cases the expired food is tossed in the trash. Food I would have no problems eating.

Testing It

One of the most impressive tests I’ve seen on expired food is a can of 64 year old lard. Food safety agents in Germany tested a can of lard from before WWII. The food agents said it was perfectly safe. It had some minor issues with smell and taste. Which is to be expected in anything that old.

Eating Expired Food

With my move I have been conserving money by eating from my food storage. Many of the canned goods had become expired. Some by more than 2 years. I’ve had no issues with any of it. Most was still quite tasty. The big exception being canned sauerkraut. It tasted funkier than usual.

Also I toss any cans that have been damaged. The canning process destroys all bacteria in the can. Nothing can make the food go bad as long as the seal remains. If the seal is broken in any way get rid of it. If a can is dented, rusty or swollen it is trash.

Other than that I have no issues eating expired food. Don’t toss that food enjoy it.