How long does Peanut Butter last? UPDATE on 1999 MRE #30

[Grantbo]

Here's the quiz. I have a 40oz jar of Jiff Extra Crunchy peanut butter. It was put in storage in 5/04 and has an expire date of of 5/12/06. Is it still good to eat? Also this: stored in basement, in a big plastic tote, cool dark environment; never opened.


Hummm??






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Yummy. Great taste, nice texture, tummy feels good. You'd never know it was so old.


Tomorrow I'm gonna try an MRE bough in 1999. My wife will be around to take me to the hospital if necessary.

 

[Bicycle Junkie]

The hydrogenated oils a/k/a transfats keep it from spoiling.

 

[Perpetuity]

I always store new peanut butter in the fridge and take it out when it's time for a new jar to be opened up. Never had a problem with it being out of date, as the refrigeration probably helps keep the oils from going rancid.

Let us know on the MREs...I have a case of crackers from '98 or '99 that I haven't taste tested in a good five years or so. Sounds like a plan for tomorrow on testing them. Hmmm...peanut butter and MRE crackers anyone???

 

[Wildwood]

I read years and years ago that peanut butter can develope a mold that is undetectable by taste or appearance and that it may not make you sick but is a carcinogen. Now I'm not saying this is a fact and I can't remember where I read it but I do try to use peanut butter before the expiration date .

 

[Zulu Cowboy]

Smell it first...before you eat it.
I opened some peanut butter 2 months ago that was purchased in 1999, in anticipation of Y2K, and it had gone rancid!
If it's gone bad...you'll know it!

Zulu

 

[Beetree]

Not more than 1 day on..

It does not last long at all on a mouse trap.

However I have some jars that are.. I don't know how old and still look and smell good. I am concerned about the many recalls that they had last year concerning contamination. I intend on calling the number on the label to find out if mine are recalled. I have some from Walmart that don't have any info on them though. No number, and no information at all regarding who the HECK manufactured it. Why is this allowed? Well maybe I can call Walmart and talk to the customer service. They should know all about recalls on their peanut butter right?

 

[Hermit]

I read years and years ago that peanut butter can develope a mold that is undetectable by taste or appearance and that it may not make you sick but is a carcinogen. Now I'm not saying this is a fact and I can't remember where I read it but I do try to use peanut butter before the expiration date .

Aflatoxin. From the Wikipedia article:

Aflatoxin producing members of Aspergillus are common and widespread in nature. They can colonize and contaminate grain before harvest or during storage. Host crops are particularly susceptible to infection by Aspergillus following prolonged exposure to a high humidity environment or damage from stressful conditions such as drought, a condition which lowers the barrier to entry.
The native habitat of Aspergillus is in soil, decaying vegetation, hay, and grains undergoing microbiological deterioration and it invades all types of organic substrates whenever conditions are favorable for its growth. Favorable conditions include high moisture content (at least 7%) and high temperature.
Crops which are frequently affected include cereals (maize, sorghum, pearl millet, rice, wheat), oilseeds (peanut, soybean, sunflower, cotton), spices (chile peppers, black pepper, coriander, turmeric, ginger), and tree nuts (almond, pistachio, walnut, coconut, brazil nut).
The toxin can also be found in the milk of animals which are fed contaminated feed.
Virtually all sources of commercial peanut butter contain minute quantities of aflatoxin,[1] but it is usually far below the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) recommended safe level.

 

[Beetree]

I don't think Aflatoxin can live IN..

Aflatoxin. From the Wikipedia article:

I don't think that can grow in an oily substance like peanut butter. Just my opinion of it, but it would seem that something like that would be more likely to grow in soil or decaying hay matter etc. as the article suggests. Maybe the substance grows on the peanut plants in the ground or after they were harvested and put in storage. Peanuts like bananas have a protective coating on them. Assuming the peanuts themselves are clean after they have been hulled..we have to worry about the contamination in the factory itself which apparently caused some of the recalls last year.

 

[Satanta]

I had some C-ration PB back in '87 or so and ate it. Was dry and kind of hard but otherwise it was PB.

 

[Chapulin]

Grantbo, so glad this wasn't one of your stories. Didn't even have flashing lights!

Chap

 

[Para36]

Seems people's experiences are mixed. I try to keep my peanut butter rotated to stay within a max of 5 years and haven't had any problem when stored at no more than 70 deg.

I'm always interested to read of other's experience with shelf life of storage items. So much of the data out there is conflicting, probably because of varying storage / packaging conditions. I find that most of my storage items are good far beyond what is reported from different sources.
Para.

 

[Ben Sunday]

I will be interested to learn about MRE's. Have a bunch from 92, 97, and 99. Stored in a cool, dark, dry closet, in original packaging inside heavy cardboard boxes. I check a few of the pouches from time to time...no leaking, no ballooned packages.

??

 

[Hermit]

I don't think that can grow in an oily substance like peanut butter. Just my opinion of it, but it would seem that something like that would be more likely to grow in soil or decaying hay matter etc. as the article suggests. Maybe the substance grows on the peanut plants in the ground or after they were harvested and put in storage. Peanuts like bananas have a protective coating on them. Assuming the peanuts themselves are clean after they have been hulled..we have to worry about the contamination in the factory itself which apparently caused some of the recalls last year.

I think the mold grows with the peanuts in soil, but then is killed when the peanuts are ground into peanut butter - however the toxin remains.

I guess there are FDA standards for it now, some batches a few decades ago were quite high in the toxin. Who knows, maybe the FDA is good for something after all.

 

[Hermit]

I'll bet if peanut butter is placed into a glass jar it would stay good about a hundred years. Does anyone have an old glass jar of commercial pb around? The all natural brands that don't have hydrogenated shortening or sugar or diglycerides are still packed in jars.

My Six-Week-Wonder Wife used to freeze it, but I don't think that would make the stuff in glass jars last longer ... maybe it would keep the peanut butter in plastic containers from getting rancid after a decade or so, but it seems to me to be a waste of valuable freezer space and electricity.

 

[NBCsurvivor]

I will be interested to learn about MRE's. Have a bunch from 92, 97, and 99. Stored in a cool, dark, dry closet, in original packaging inside heavy cardboard boxes. I check a few of the pouches from time to time...no leaking, no ballooned packages.

??

92 huh? The dark dark brown packaging on the MREs'?

 

[fsgear]

I`ve ate MRE peanut butter packs that have been ten years plus old, with no problems - just 'knead' the packs a bit to mix the oils and solids, and it seemed as good as new production stuff. The oldest stored PB I`ve ever encountered was canned about 1964 or 1965, in tiny olive drab cans for C-rations. Opened one in 1999 (about 35 years old at that point,) and it was a little dark brown round brick that faintly had a nutty odor. Still could have been used for dog food or fish bait, but wasn`t too appetizing. I have some 'powdered' peanut butter long-term storage (I think made by Ready Made Resources?) from the 80s, that is still edible; but powdered peanut butter is not nearly as good as the real thing, ever. (My plan if I ever use those cans is to 'mix' it with better quality PB) I`ve eaten Peter Pan and Jif PB that`s been in the cardboard/lined can containers similar to ready to bake buiscut packaging, that`s been years past the exp. date and it was fine. The only noticeable difference is the 'smell' and the taste kind of slowly isn`t as 'sharp' as the years go by, in commercially packaged PB.

MRE individual use packs, are the way to go for long term PB storage. I`ve bought a few hundred and buy more when I find them.

 

[RoadRunner]

Knew a guy I worked with once that tested some found in the back of a mine shaft from around oh the earley 30's and he lived to tell the tale......... bit dried at the top and a little chewy but said it tasted alright.

 

[NBCsurvivor]

I will vouch for the PB from old MREs. Some of the cases that I bought back in 92 got sliced up and individualized into 'mini packs' for my Y2K stuff. Early last year during a clean out of one of the car kits that I forgot about in the Passport I happened onto one of those PBs.

It took about six beers to get my nerve up to try it knowing how old it was and under what conditions it was stored, but I tried it and ended up eating the whole pack. Honestly, it was fine IMHO. No loss of sight. The crackers were even half OK. The tabasco was alright. I didn't have the nerve or wasn't drunk enough to try anything else.

 

[fsgear]

"Knew a guy I worked with once that tested some found in the back of a mine shaft from around oh the earley 30's and he lived to tell the tale......... bit dried at the top and a little chewy but said it tasted alright."

Given the fact that old time miners often took a crap in old tins, rather than climb back out of the mines, that was a bold experiment your friend undertook.

 

[inskanoot]

I probably read it here.

It varies. The crunchy style has a shorter shelf life.

 

[Safecastle]

I'd suggest that folks do pay some mind to shelf life and expiration date info on foods. As others have noted here, spoilage and/or loss of nutritional value are not always evident to the naked eye or the discerning nose.

Note that "shelf life" and "best before (date)" refers to food quality. An "expiration date" and often a "use by" stamp is actually referring to food safety, and should NOT be consumed after that date has passed.

Also good to know--even canned foods can and do spoil BEFORE expiration dates if not handled and stored properly (usually should be in stable, reasonable (room temp or cooler), temperature-controlled areas.

As for peanut butter--Alan Hagan's site lists a storage life of 6-9 months for unopened peanut butter in cool, dark conditions.

As for military MRE shelf life--this is the chart used in the industry (civilian MREs are similar):

 

[coalcracker]

"Knew a guy I worked with once that tested some found in the back of a mine shaft from around oh the earley 30's and he lived to tell the tale......... bit dried at the top and a little chewy but said it tasted alright."

Given the fact that old time miners often took a crap in old tins, rather than climb back out of the mines, that was a bold experiment your friend undertook.

Good line!


For those who are a bit disgusted by the thought, consider:
- climbing out a mine is often no easy task
- the work would continue while you were gone, down one man, of course
- there were no porta-potties sitting outside at the top
What would you do?

Consider this too: the temperature in the mine is at a temperature of constant refrigeration, so this peanut butter had natural enhancement for shelf life
(unlike Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens).

 

[NBCsurvivor]

I'd suggest that folks do pay some mind to shelf life and expiration date info on foods. As others have noted here, spoilage and/or loss of nutritional value are not always evident to the naked eye or the discerning nose.

Note that "shelf life" and "best before (date)" refers to food quality. An "expiration date" and often a "use by" stamp is actually referring to food safety, and should NOT be consumed after that date has passed.

Also good to know--even canned foods can and do spoil BEFORE expiration dates if not handled and stored properly (usually should be in stable, reasonable (room temp or cooler), temperature-controlled areas.

As for peanut butter--Alan Hagan's site lists a storage life of 6-9 months for unopened peanut butter in cool, dark conditions.

As for military MRE shelf life--this is the chart used in the industry (civilian MREs are similar):

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I did not derive any nutritional value from what I ate.

 

[fsgear]

"As for peanut butter--Alan Hagan's site lists a storage life of 6-9 months for unopened peanut butter in cool, dark conditions."

In the real world, that jar of peanut butter rode to the grocer`s warehouse in the back of a semi-truck at about 110 degrees, sat in an unheated/uncooled warehouse for a few months, then sat in the back of another semi-truck for another 110 degree ride, then sat on your grocery store shelf gathering dust as pimple-faced kids kept putting the fresh stock in front because it`s easier, until someone finally put it in their shopping cart.

That peanut butter is past 6 to 9 months old before you ever get it.

 

[Safecastle]

I was just looking at JIF Peanut Butter's website. They say their peanut butter is good for two years on the shelf, unopened. After opening, you can keep it about 3 months on the shelf. That can be extended if you refrigerate.

The stamp they put on their jars indicates the exact day it was made ...

We place a manufacturing date on each package. This date is printed in white near the universal product bar code "(UPC)" and might look something like this: 1122Y320.
The first number represents the year it was made. For instance, the 1 in our example code means it was made in 2001. A number 0 would mean it was made in 2000, 9 in 1999, and so on.
The next three numbers represent the day of the year the product was made. In our example, the 122 (or one hundred and twenty second day) is May 2.
The remaining numbers and letters are plant codes, which have nothing to do with the date.

 

[styerscout308]

Ditto on the "you will know if it's rancid" comment above! Food value will go down... however, I've decided that, instead of throwing away food that's out of date and may have the food value reduced, I'll just keep it and add a replacement. If we do need to eat this stuff in a crisis, low food value is better than no food value.
Recently, I opened a #10 can of dehydrated milk that was my dad's from the original Howard Ruff days (about 1975). I think it was Nitropak. It was fine! Storage conditions were not always optimal, either.

 

[Chartreuse]

Virtually every jar of peanut butter I've opened in the last couple of years has been at least 18 months past its expiration date - no problem at all.

 

[fsgear]

You know the one canned food that just will not store much past it`s expiration date? Pudding. I`ve opened some 'in-date' canned puddings close to the exp. date and the flavor was waaaaay off - (trashed). I opened a big can of vanilla pudding that I bought in 99 about 05 and it had completely liquified. Yuuuuck.

 

[clem]

These are the Cs that I remember as being the best. I was exposed to MREs a few times, yuk!


We did call "Ham & Lima Beans" something else, ha!

 

[Grantbo]

UPDATE:

Just ate the MRE from 1999. It was a pasta in tomato sauce, cracker, apple jelly, brownie and lime drink. All of it was just as I would expect. In fact, the pasta was really good with a spicy initial kick yet ending subtle green-bean and pea flavor. Cracker was only a bit better than hard tack. Apple jelly was as sticky as ever. Lime drink was awesome. Such a big pack for only 6 oz of water. Brownie had some whiteish stuff on the bottom but was otherwise a gewy as normal. My dogs liked the 1/2 I didn' eat.

I feel ok, the dogs haven't thown up so I guess it's still good.

 

[Safecastle]

You should be OK, Grantbo, but it does take up to 48 hours for food poisoning symptoms to emerge.

Not to worry you, but for others who are tempted to eat expired foods ...
It CAN be serious if you gamble and lose ...
Food Poisoning Causes

More than 200 known diseases can be transmitted through food. Those are just the ones we know about. The CDC estimates unknown or undiscovered agents cause 81% of all food–borne illnesses and related hospitalizations. Many cases of food poisoning are not reported because people suffer mild symptoms and recover quickly. Also, doctors do not test for a cause in every suspected case because it does not change the treatment or the outcome.

• The known causes of food poisoning can be divided into two categories: infective agents and toxic agents.
  • Infective agents include viruses, bacteria, and parasites.
  • Toxic agents include poisonous mushrooms, improperly prepared exotic foods (such as barracuda), or pesticides on fruits and vegetables.
• Food usually becomes contaminated from poor sanitation or preparation. Food handlers who do not wash their hands after using the bathroom or have infections themselves often cause contamination. Improperly packaged food stored at the wrong temperature also promotes contamination.

 

[fsgear]

The apple jelly will eat thru the MRE packs given enough time...as will MRE applesauce. I don`t know 'what' it is about the acids in apple products, but I`ve seen that happen with canned applesauce, too: it will eat thru the metal eventually.

 

[Hermit]

More than 200 known diseases can be transmitted through food. ....

there's not the slightest chance of food in a can or jar transmitting a disease, unless there's a hole rusted in it. Not if it was canned with US standards, maybe some thirdworld countries wouldn't use enough time and pressure to can .... or if it was canned without pressure and heat, as with mayonnaise.

However if it's not in metal or glass, oxygen can eventually get in and make it taste rancid. Also, there is a very slow molecular "cooking" even at cold temps, that can affect the flavor. No matter how cold, the molecules are still moving around and sometimes combining, just as in cooking.

Another factor to consider in the case of a pandemic, is that people who handle the can or mre before you get it may contaminate the surface, and if you then open it the microbes can get on the food (or they can get on your hands even before opening).

 

[Ben Sunday]

92 huh? The dark dark brown packaging on the MREs'?

Yes, the dark brown vinyl and foil pouch packed in a cardboard box...and stored in a heavier cardboard box in a climate stable closet.

Any guesses?

 

[NoName]

I had some C-ration PB back in '87 or so and ate it. Was dry and kind of hard but otherwise it was PB.

Used to mix that stuff with the issue bug repellant to heat our other C's