FOOD CHECK your canned goods!!

[ShadowMan]

Went to make a meat loaf tonight and all our tomato sauce cans were bad. Yes they were a few years out of date, but the cans themselves initially appeared in perfect condition. No dings, no dents, no rust, but when I looked closely they were just slightly bulging on the ends. No flippers. Just slightly bulging, so little you might not even notice it. So I tested a couple after the first one spit at me as soon as I punctured the top with the can opener.....UGH!! So I tossed them and ran out to our neighborhood market here on the mountain to get some fresh cans.

As I'm grabbing a couple of cans I notice that one of the cans was just like the ones I had tossed out at home, slightly bulging. I checked the dates and found several expired. So I do what any INTJ would do. I went through most of the cans on the shelf right then and there in the store and placed all the expired cans on the ground. The six cans I did buy were dated until 2022. But I found enough expired 2019 dates that I brought it to the attention of the staff there.

The staff were kind of shocked as they had just received all the tomato sauce cans that were on the shelf in their latest shipment just this week. So don't forget to CHECK YOUR CANS no matter when or where you get them.

Just a heads up folks. With the current supply situation in our country there's no telling what's going to get shipped out from warehouses. And BTW....yes, we'll be planting extra tomatoes and will be canning a lot more this year.

 

[Double_A]

Two items I've had problem with.... tomato sauce and pineapple chunks. Both bulging cans, but the pineapple chunks were the worst.

Acidity is high in both.

 

[Texican]

We store our canned goods in a pantry where the temp stays in the low sixties or lower. This keeps down insects and spoilage. Still check the old cans for use acceptability and if any doubt, out they go.

All of our cans are marked with sticker with the best by date and oldest are used first.

You can not be careful enough with canned supplies. When in doubt ---- toss.

Texican....

 

[packyderms_wife]

Thank you for the heads up!

 

[Dennis Olson]

Tomato sauce and pineapple are acidic. Over time, the acid eats through the can liner and bad things happen. Don’t keep them past their expiration date.

 

[fish hook]

Two items I've had problem with.... tomato sauce and pineapple chunks. Both bulging cans, but the pineapple chunks were the worst.

Acidity is high in both.

Thissome other fruit as well,peaches are almost as bad.

 

[imminence]

Perhaps you should ask summerthyme on this subject. We debated this exact thing a few months ago, and she indicated just open em and eat em. Expiration dates are for jackasses, lawyers, and manufacturers.

 

[ShadowMan]

Expiration dates are not gospel, but they are reasonable suggestions and estimates. There was an English couple that opened up and safely ate a fifty (50) year old can of chicken that was purchased on their marriage day. I'm sure that nutritionally it was somewhat lacking, but was still edible. I always inspect anything canned BEFORE I open it. I won't buy dented or damaged canned goods. I don't care what the savings might be.

I grew up with parents that canned so have knowledge and experience there. I actually trust glass over metal cans. Plus I like being able to see what's inside. If it looks fishy....I toss it. When in doubt - throw it out.

 

[Wildwood]

Two items I've had problem with.... tomato sauce and pineapple chunks. Both bulging cans, but the pineapple chunks were the worst.

Acidity is high in both.

Same for me.

 

[LeafyForest]

Found out that we have the same problem = went to make lunch and checked the cans in the
storage cupboard and found several out of date - and now in the garbage bin. Now we know
we have a job to do = get busy and go thru my cupboards and see what dates are on cans and
take care (get rid) of them!
Thanks for the heads up!!

 

[jward]

Hmm. I know that I've had, as mentioned here, tomato based, pineapple and peach canned goods that just didn't "taste right"
I hope they hadn't gone over to actually bad. Either way, thanks for the tip! I do try to look in stores for the dates, but sometimes am lax there. I bet now it is even more important and a lot of old stock will show up

 

[nehimama]

I feel the need to have some tomato-based pasta sauces on hand. I've had canned tomato products and pineapple go bad before. In fact, a couple cans of pineapple chunks exploded in my pantry because I didn't pay attention. I don't like Ragu brand pasta sauces, or Prego brand - too much sugar. I think I'll purchase several cans of the Hunt's brand, then re-can in glass.

 

[Hacker]

I buy tomato/sauces in a jar. No cans. I recommend you do too.

Yes, I know the lid is metal. Nonetheless, it has worked much better for me.

 

[Tripod]

Also put those kind of cans on the bottom in case they do rupture, will keep the mess to a minimum.
Mike

 

[nehimama]

I buy tomato/sauces in a jar. No cans. I recommend you do too.

Yes, I know the lid is metal. Nonetheless, it has worked much better for me.

But I don't LIKE the sauces in jars! Prego and Ragu are awful.

 

[vestige]

Timely thread. Thanks to the OP.

It's good practice to periodically check your stock regardless of the contents of the jar/can.

Also good to regularly checker your freezer (s).

Sorry Dennis.

 

[intothatgoodnight]

My suggestion - make your own, and freeze what you don't use right away. Easily defrosted and deployed when needed.

recipe for Arrabbiata Sauce at DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo. Privacy, Simplified.

duckduckgo.com

intothegoodnight

 

[Hacker]

But I don't LIKE the sauces in jars! Prego and Ragu are awful.

Yep. They suck. I buy a couple of different brands from Costco; both organic, and they taste great. I use them for making soup, chili, etc.

 

[nomifyle]

I always check the contents of canned goods, a bad tomato product is pretty easy to spot.

A couple of times I week I try to remember to prepare a meal, for myself, from older canned goods. Today it was blackeyed peas, and spinach, one can expired in 2018 and the other in 2016. The contents were fine. I added some tiny pasta, sour cream and chopped up sausage patty, seasoning with Tony's. DH would not touch anything like that with a ten foot pole, but I found it tasty.

In a dehydrating yohoo group today there was a thread on dehydrating canned pasta sauce. I need to revisit it and look at it further, if I can find it.

Judy

 

[Kathy in FL]

Add it to your monthly cleaning schedule. I change the air filters and clean my pantry cabinets once per month. It helps with rotation, weevils, etc. Based on what I have the most of in the pantry is how I make the next month's menu. I fill in holes with sales and loss leaders and items I preserve from whatever is available fresh locally.

It is just a good habit to get into so you use what you store and store what you use.

 

[summerthyme]

Perhaps you should ask summerthyme on this subject. We debated this exact thing a few months ago, and she indicated just open em and eat em. Expiration dates are for jackasses, lawyers, and manufacturers.

Er... not exactly. A bulging can indicates a problem... I'd no more consume the contents of a bulging can than I would a jar whose lid was loose.

I agree thst "expiration" dates are mostly for legal reasons... I suspect they were originally the date that food containers kept under the worst possible storage conditions could be guaranteed safe. Storing under optimum conditions can double or triple storage life of most things.

We've eaten pineapple that was 4 years beyond date, but it's stored on open shelves in our cool basement. A couple of cans of peaches (much less acidic) blew up within a year of their date... they were left on a cardboard flat which apparently wicked moisture from the cement block wall.

Everyone is missing the most important point, though... ShadowMan found EXPIRED and BULGING cans for sale at the grocery store! That's a pretty good indication that sone areas are scraping the bottom of the barrel for supplies (or the owners of his store are saving money by shopping at a "scratch and dent" food warehouse!

Summerthyme

 

[SouthernBreeze]

By all means, check your SPAM! I just lost 30 cans that expired 2 yrs. ago. I went into the pantry to pull out a can, and it was bulging. That prompted me to go through all of my stock. I was left with only 12 cans that were still good. Those were bought this year, and in good shape. I stocked up again, yesterday, but will watch more carefully from now on.

 

[ShadowMan]

My suggestion - make your own, and freeze what you don't use right away. Easily defrosted and deployed when needed.

I do freeze a lot, however that is a concern where we live. Because of all the fires out here on the Left Coast the power companies here, especially after the near total destruction of Paradise in the Camp Fire, have taken to turning off power to regions when high winds hit. The last thing I want to do is lose a whole freezers worth of frozen food. Right now I have nearly 300 pounds of freshly butchered beef in there. As an aside we are in the middle of installing a whole house backup generator to mitigate that issue.

Everyone is missing the most important point, though... ShadowMan found EXPIRED and BULGING cans for sale at the grocery store! That's a pretty good indication that some areas are scraping the bottom of the barrel for supplies (or the owners of his store are saving money by shopping at a "scratch and dent" food warehouse! Summerthyme

DING! - DING! - DING! We have a WINNER!!

We're used to routinely going through our preps at home and even then find an item or two that have somehow hidden out that is well past expired. But in a store you expect to find the most current up to date items for sale. With all the Covid crap going on things have gotten screwed up, behind and sloppy. So just be aware when out shopping to double check everything. No sense spending good hard earned money in tight times on expired out of date goods or even possibly dangerous goods.

 

[WalknTrot]

Yep..tomato products and high acid fruit a problem. Even though some of the cans are lined with "plastic" these days...it doesn't help that much. When a can is bulging or "spit's" at you when you start the opener, it's gone over to the dark side. Means that whatever is inside is outgassing or the seal is bad. Either one ain't healthy.

And yes...doesn't surprise me that some unscrupulous wholesalers are trying to dump old product when demand is as high as it is.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

I do freeze a lot, however that is a concern where we live. Because of all the fires out here on the Left Coast the power companies here, especially after the near total destruction of Paradise in the Camp Fire, have taken to turning off power to regions when high winds hit. The last thing I want to do is lose a whole freezers worth of frozen food. Right now I have nearly 300 pounds of freshly butchered beef in there. As an aside we are in the middle of installing a whole house backup generator to mitigate that issue.



DING! - DING! - DING! We have a WINNER!!

We're used to routinely going through our preps at home and even then find an item or two that have somehow hidden out that is well past expired. But in a store you expect to find the most current up to date items for sale. With all the Covid crap going on things have gotten screwed up, behind and sloppy. So just be aware when out shopping to double check everything. No sense spending good hard earned money in tight times on expired out of date goods or even possibly dangerous goods.

I've been in the habit of always checking the best by dates on everything. It's a good habit to have, especially now that we know the store shelves might be stocked with out of date or near out of date stuff. This thread is a very good reminder!

 

[Coco82919]

We ate some canned pineapple chunks yesterday that expired in 2014. I think they are just starting to turn. It had a slightly funny taste and color seemed darker then it should have. Neither of us are sick today. I have 3 more 8 cases in the basement. I think it is time to throw away. This pisses off my husband because I wasted money by buying so much to start with.

Right now he is frustrated because I keep buying Ham and cutting it up and freeze drying it. Really, anytime I buy food and put it in the basement he gives me that look, like what are you doing. The thing is I do not go through the food in a timely manner. I buy more then we need because I feel ever since Obama got elected that at any time the US is going to go down. I have been saying for years that things will crash in a few months. He no longer believes me.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

We ate some canned pineapple chunks yesterday that expired in 2014. I think they are just starting to turn. It had a slightly funny taste and color seemed darker then it should have. Neither of us are sick today. I have 3 more 8 cases in the basement. I think it is time to throw away. This pisses off my husband because I wasted money by buying so much to start with.

Right now he is frustrated because I keep buying Ham and cutting it up and freeze drying it. Really, anytime I buy food and put it in the basement he gives me that look, like what are you doing. The thing is I do not go through the food in a timely manner. I buy more then we need because I feel ever since Obama got elected that at any time the US is going to go down. I have been saying for years that things will crash in a few months. He no longer believes me.

I feel for you on losing all that pineapple! Cary let me know bigly that he was not pleased with me for buying up so much Spam, and lost it. He's ok with all my prepping. He does the same with his stuff. But, after losing so much Spam, he's holding me to a higher standard of awareness on how much I'm buying for storage.

 

[WalknTrot]

I'm surprised at the SPAM starting to bulge. Usually nothing more bullet-proof than SPAM, but the old key-style seal (remember those?) was probably a lot more secure than these new pull-tab lids.

IF I was desperate for the food...and had the problem of all that old canned pineapple, as long as the cans still have a vacuum and NOT bulging...I'd try dehydrating it. Dehydrated pineapple chunks are delicious/candy-like, and if the fruit is still safe to eat, but just "off" color and taste, it might be much more paletable as dried fruit. Not actually suggesting it, but something to think about.

 

[shane]

Most everybody will use their noses to check whether food is spoiled or not.

This could get you killed with any suspect can, especially if bulging was not
readily noticeable so you'd gotten a big whiff under pressure quick as you
first punctured the can. Botulism inhaled like that can be a death sentence.

From Botulism pathophysiology - wikidoc
"The neurotoxins which cause botulism are the most potent toxins currently
known and cause paralysis through the inhibition of acetlylcholine release
in human nerve endings."

And, from; Nursing CE
Botulinum toxin is the most poisonous substance known to man. A single gram
of crystalline botulinum toxin, evenly dispersed and inhaled, could kill more than
1 million people. It is 15,000 to 100,000 times more toxic than sarin, the destructive
nerve agent used in the Tokyo subway system.

Botulism is classified as a Category A bioterrorism agent because of its ease
of dissemination and high mortality rate. When used as a biological weapon,
botulinum toxin is most likely to be dispersed as an aerosol for inhalation,
although it could be added to the food or water supply. Following an aerosol
release, the toxin may be swallowed as well as inhaled.

Several countries developed botulinum toxin as aerosol weapons in the past.
Animal models suggest that inhaling 0.7-0.9 µg (< one millionth of a gram) of
aerosolized botulinum toxin would be enough to kill a standard weight person
(70 kg or 154 lbs).

Bottom Line; don't mess with bulging cans, they should be treated like leaking
old sticks of dynamite. Disposed of where no others will come across them, ever.

Panic Early, Beat the Rush!
- Shane

 

[Caralee]

I have started checking dates on food we buy from the store.
Dh bought a package of lunch meat that was bad even before he opened it.
He didn't check the date but it was already expired. Lesson learned!

 

[SouthernBreeze]

I'm surprised at the SPAM starting to bulge. Usually nothing more bullet-proof than SPAM, but the old key-style seal (remember those?) was probably a lot more secure than these new pull-tab lids.

Yeah, I was under the impression that Spam lasted forever. Got proven wrong. It was only 2 yrs out of date, and had been stored in a temp controlled room. I, too, think it's because of these new fangled pull tab seals. My loss was so great, because I bought it all about the same time, so I had all those cans expire at the same time. Either that, or there was a huge batch that came from the processing plant with faulty seals.

 

[Elza]

Perhaps you should ask summerthyme on this subject. We debated this exact thing a few months ago, and she indicated just open em and eat em. Expiration dates are for jackasses, lawyers, and manufacturers.

This is true for most. However, high acid items are critical. I used to work for Campbell soup many years ago. Most things the dates didn't mean anything. Anything with tomatoes will eat through the can liner. They have been working on this for years but so far no luck.

 

[zeker]

Went to make a meat loaf tonight and all our tomato sauce cans were bad. Yes they were a few years out of date, but the cans themselves initially appeared in perfect condition. No dings, no dents, no rust, but when I looked closely they were just slightly bulging on the ends. No flippers. Just slightly bulging, so little you might not even notice it. So I tested a couple after the first one spit at me as soon as I punctured the top with the can opener.....UGH!! So I tossed them and ran out to our neighborhood market here on the mountain to get some fresh cans.

As I'm grabbing a couple of cans I notice that one of the cans was just like the ones I had tossed out at home, slightly bulging. I checked the dates and found several expired. So I do what any INTJ would do. I went through most of the cans on the shelf right then and there in the store and placed all the expired cans on the ground. The six cans I did buy were dated until 2022. But I found enough expired 2019 dates that I brought it to the attention of the staff there.

The staff were kind of shocked as they had just received all the tomato sauce cans that were on the shelf in their latest shipment just this week. So don't forget to CHECK YOUR CANS no matter when or where you get them.

Just a heads up folks. With the current supply situation in our country there's no telling what's going to get shipped out from warehouses. And BTW....yes, we'll be planting extra tomatoes and will be canning a lot more this year.

I generally get a slap and a scowl when I start checking cans in the grocery store

 

[zeker]

peaches don't keep well after 'best by' date and fruit cocktail

I have a large spot on my shelf that is a result of these things giving up the ghost

 

[Double_A]

Cans with pull-tabs are a problem. We've discussed them here a few years ago when they became popular. Ever see a kid walk down an aisle in the grocery store touching every item on the shelf? Or pop a few can seals? Now I've been finding screw tops for a bottle of soda, loosened just enough to break the seal. Not enough to tell until you twist off the cap and realize it only took a half-turn, instead of a couple turns.

 

[summerthyme]

peaches don't keep well after 'best by' date and fruit cocktail

I have a large spot on my shelf that is a result of these things giving up the ghost

Buy canned fruit in heavy syrup... the stuff in light syrup or fruit juice doesn't keep nearly as long. The same holds true of home canned... we preferred the taste of peaches and pears in a medium syrup, and that's how I usually can it. BUT... if we have a bumper crop (or, as happened a couple years ago, are given several bushels of peaches which didn't sell), I use heavy syrup... the sugar is a preservative, and color, texture and flavor all hold a couple years longer compared to lighter syrups.

Summerthyme

 

[nehimama]

dehydrating canned pasta sauce

Spread Thinly: Spread the sauce thinly on dehydrator trays covered with parchment paper or the fruit-roll sheets that came with your dehydrator. Do not use wax paper. Pour about eight fluid ounces onto each dehydrator tray and spread uniformly to the edges.

• Dehydrate at 135° for 6 - 8 hours. Dehydrating times may vary depending on dehydrator model and humidity. After about five hours, the sauce should be dry enough to peel and flip it over for the duration on the drying time. Flipping isn't required, it just may take a little longer to dry. You'll know its ready when it's dry and not sticky.
• Blend the sauce into a powder.
• Vacuum seal or store in a sealed bag or mason jar.
• Now reconstitute, and serve! Not only can you bring back your pasta sauce to it's pre-dehydrated glory, you can also play around with additions to make slightly different sauces. Want more of a cream based sauce? Add some cream or coconut milk instead of water. When reconstituting you can also add any cheeses you would like. You can also add some extra garlic or other spices if preferred, mushrooms, meat, anything you would like really.

 

[intothatgoodnight]

The last thing I want to do is lose a whole freezers worth of frozen food. As an aside we are in the middle of installing a whole house backup generator to mitigate that issue.

One strategy to consider regarding gas-powered electric generators - though we have a large whole house system that COULD be utilized - either in part to run some big amp items, or to run the whole house as if hooked up to the grid, my first line strategy is to use a series of 2-4KW Honda-type generators - each running a stand-alone item as needed - uses much less fuel, can easily keep a freezer/refrigerator cold and the food safe - only need to run one ~3KW gas Honda-type generator for a short period of time, then stop that particular generator once the freezer/fridge is cooled down sufficiently - or, use a smaller generator to periodically top off your battery bank, if you have one - quick and easy, and sips the fuel, compared to what a whole house generator would use - remember, other than LED house lights and other simple, basic electric items which draw little total current should ideally be powered via a battery bank and/or a small generator, items like the freezers/refrigerators, HVAC, electric hot water heaters, electric stoves, water pumps do not need to run all at the same time - a short period for one of those items, one at a time, can also do the trick.

Know how to control your electric loads/drawing needs - for instance, you can run one bigger amp draw item on a properly rated smaller non-whole house generator until that item is no longer in need of electricity at that time - say, run the HVAC system long enough for it to reheat/re-cool the house to a comfortable temperature, then stop the smaller generator for a while - same idea with the water pump, or fridge/freezer - electric hot water heaters and electric stoves/ovens need a bigger generator to use more than one electric burner at a time, and the strategy should be to NOT use those heavy current draw items by powering them from a generator - rather, heat/cook water/food on a wood or propane/NG stove source, instead.

One other important tid-bit - watch and note the hour meters on generators - there are oil change cycles that must be performed, especially on the small Honda-type generators, that are vitally important - make sure that you have a ready available stock of fresh oil of the proper type, in order to facilitate changing the oil at the required hours indicated. Many a small generator gas motor has failed prematurely because this one important maintanence items was ignored until too late - typically, small generators, especially if run continuously for hours/days at a time, will need the oil changed in the 30-50 hour range, according to the factory spec - do the math - does not take too many days (2-3 days, in this example) of continuous running before it is time to change the generator's gas engine oil.


intothegoodnight

 

[etdeb]

Not can goods but our HEB has stocked Santa Kleenex tissue this past week

 

[shane]

One strategy to consider regarding gas-powered electric generators - though we have a large whole house system that COULD be utilized - either in part to run some big amp items, or to run the whole house as if hooked up to the grid, my first line strategy is to use a series of 2-4KW Honda-type generators - each running a stand-alone item as needed - uses much less fuel, can easily keep a freezer/refrigerator cold and the food safe - only need to run one ~3KW gas Honda-type generator for a short period of time, then stop that particular generator once the freezer/fridge is cooled down sufficiently - or, use a smaller generator to periodically top off your battery bank, if you have one - quick and easy, and sips the fuel, compared to what a whole house generator would use - remember, other than LED house lights and other simple, basic electric items which draw little total current should ideally be powered via a battery bank and/or a small generator, items like the freezers/refrigerators, HVAC, electric hot water heaters, electric stoves, water pumps do not need to run all at the same time - a short period for one of those items, one at a time, can also do the trick.

Know how to control your electric loads/drawing needs - for instance, you can run one bigger amp draw item on a properly rated smaller non-whole house generator until that item is no longer in need of electricity at that time - say, run the HVAC system long enough for it to reheat/re-cool the house to a comfortable temperature, then stop the smaller generator for a while - same idea with the water pump, or fridge/freezer - electric hot water heaters and electric stoves/ovens need a bigger generator to use more than one electric burner at a time, and the strategy should be to NOT use those heavy current draw items by powering them from a generator - rather, heat/cook water/food on a wood or propane/NG stove source, instead.

One other important tid-bit - watch and note the hour meters on generators - there are oil change cycles that must be performed, especially on the small Honda-type generators, that are vitally important - make sure that you have a ready available stock of fresh oil of the proper type, in order to facilitate changing the oil at the required hours indicated. Many a small generator gas motor has failed prematurely because this one important maintanence items was ignored until too late - typically, small generators, especially if run continuously for hours/days at a time, will need the oil changed in the 30-50 hour range, according to the factory spec - do the math - does not take too many days (2-3 days, in this example) of continuous running before it is time to change the generator's gas engine oil.


intothegoodnight

I'd said it before on recent thread about gennys running refrigeration/freezers.

Job#1 is minimizing need for alternate energy by maximizing conservation 1st,
like acquiring used freezer panels (I've been getting 4-5" thick for < 50 cents
a sq ft.) then build a box of them around your freezer; top, bottom, and sides,
leaving just small required section open for exposed coils to breath. (Does not
work if refrigerator or freezer has non-exposed coils that are embedded/hidden
all over under the appliances outside surface case, which I would not buy/use.)

Your food will thus stay colder much longer meaning your genny runs less often,
saving both wear & tear on it and greatly conserving fuel, too.

Panic Early, Beat the Rush!
- Shane