Most shelf-stable foods are safe indefinitely. In fact, canned goods will last for years, as long as the can itself is in good condition (no rust, dents, or swelling).
Can you eat “expired” canned food? Good news: Shelf-stable canned goods are safe more or less indefinitely, lasting up to five years or more according to the USDA.
According to the USDA, most shelf-stable foods will last indefinitely if they are kept in good condition (meaning free of rust, major dents, or swelling). Though, that's no guarantee that the food's texture and taste will be the same as when you first bought it years past the expiration date.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, canned contents are safe to eat as long as the can is in “good shape.” The Canned Food Alliance agrees, citing 100-year-old canned food that was recovered from sunken ships and tested microbiologically safe.
As long as the can is in good shape, the contents should be safe to eat, although the taste, texture and nutritional value of the food can diminish over time. Home canned foods should be used within 1 year.
The toxin is made most often by Clostridium botulinum bacteria. Improperly canned, preserved, or fermented foods can provide the right conditions for the bacteria to make the toxin. You cannot see, smell, or taste the toxin, but taking even a small taste of food containing it can be deadly.
One of the oldest canned foods out there still in existence is said to be this can of kidney soup, which was donated to a food pantry. By now it probably serves better as a prop than actual lunch.
The longest-lasting canned foods are canned meat 4-30 years, followed by canned vegetables 3-8 years, canned beans 3-6 years, canned fish 3-6 years, canned rice 2-6 years, canned broth 3-5 years, canned soups 2-4 years, and lastly canned fruits which only last around 1-2 years.
Properly packaged and stored dry grains can be safely consumed for more than 30 years. Canned foods stored in a cool, dry location, that are not bulging or leaking, can be safely eaten for several years past their best-if-used-by date printed on the can.
The weather is getting hotter, icebergs are melting and well several animals are getting extinct. Adding to this, scientists have warned us that we just have 27 years until we are out of food completely.
Manufacturers of freeze dried food make sure their meals aren't exposed to oxygen or light so their freeze dried food maintains its 25 year shelf life. They do this by packing their food in mylar pouches. All plastics allow minute amounts of oxygen to pass through them over time.
Dried foods, like beans and grains, can last 20 to 30 years when stored correctly in sealed foil bags. Because storing dried foods in mylar bags sealed inside a food-grade bucket is the best storage method, foods stored in this manner can reach their maximum shelf lives.
As a general rule, unopened home canned foods have a shelf life of one year and should be used before two years. Commercially canned foods should retain their best quality until the expiration code date on the can. This date is usually 2-5 years from the manufacture date.
Properly canned and entirely unopened, canned tuna can last for three to five years after the canning process. It will still, generally speaking, be quite safe to eat even after that.
According to the USDA: "High-acid canned foods (e.g. tomatoes and fruits) will keep their best quality for 12 to 18 months. Whereas, low-acid canned foods (e.g. meats and vegetables) will keep for two to five years." Due to corrosion and rusting, canned foods do not last forever.
1880s “Tinned peaches, apricots, pears, cherries and pineapples were part of the store cupboard in middle-class kitchens and became integral to quick desserts” (282).
Canning is an extremely efficient means of preserving food. Generally speaking, if canned foods aren't subjected to intense heat, their contents should stay good for two years or more. Beware, however, of dented cans or those with swollen tops, which may indicate the presence of bacteria inside.
Steve Thomas films himself eating his way through military history—peanut butter from the Korean War, beef bouillon from WWII, biscuits from the Civil War—and his surprisingly rabid YouTube viewership can't get enough.
These Clostridium botulinum spores can be destroyed by pressure canning the food at a temperature of 240 F or above for a specific period. If you find timetables on recipes for processing low-acid foods in a boiling water bath canner, do not use them.
botulinum are heat-resistant, the toxin produced by bacteria growing out of the spores under anaerobic conditions is destroyed by boiling (for example, at internal temperature greater than 85 °C for 5 minutes or longer).
The botulism spores can only be killed by the high heat that can be obtained in a pressure canner. In addition, home-canned foods should be boiled for 20 minutes before tasting or eating.