tins of food

[randyraven]

I was always under the impression that tined food was good for 10 years +.
However we have loads of tins of food, that have expiry dates going back to Jan 2007.
I've told my wife they are ok to eat ...but she is going to bin them.
Whats the facts ...are they ok ? I say yes.
It will be me eating them I feel anyway :-)

[cruella]

Hubby and I went though our cupboards last Sunday and threw out every tin that was out of date. Cupboard is bare now.

[mrs_overall]

If the tins are not dented or "blown" then they will be fine.

There was a story in the papers last year about a couple who were given a tinned chicken as a wedding present in 1957....and opened it & ate it on their Golden wedding!

[shaneystar2]

Tinned food lasts for donkeys years as long as the tins are not rusty or as Mrs O says blown or dented . They are obliged now to put a sell buy or best before date on tins ..they never used to .I read somewhere about a ship that was sunk in 1860 odd and a hundred years later they analyised the contents of cans found in the wreck and they were perfectly edidble and had lost none of their nutritional value ..

[randyraven]

Thats what I was thinking. I dont remember sellby dates on tins until recently.
Why do they have to do this ..when tins last for years and years ?

[JonnyBoy12]

Yes, I agree with all the above posts. As long as the tin is not rusted or blown then the food should be fine. Ten years is perfectly normal for tinned food, but would draw the line at fresh fish or fresh fruit of this age.

Have been eaten out of date tinned food, for years and look at me now, an AnswerBank Junkie!

[theprof]

Yes, I was about to mention the true story mentioned by In A Pickle.

In general, as long as the integrity of the canned food has not been compromised by holes or dents etc, tinned food is safe to eat many decades after its "best before" or "use by" date.

The key to it all is the preparation of the foodstuff before it goes into the can. Legislation now makes it necessary for canners to vacuum pack and/or cook the foodstuff under strict conditions to make sure its as sterile as possible when sealed in the can. Microbiological studies of tinned foodstuffs opened after many decades have shown that microorganisms are very rarely found in such products so the methods used do work very efficiently.

When organisms are found in such products, they are usually pathogens that may be found from human cross-contamination such as a worker who may have had an infected boil etc on his/her skin rather than organisms endemic in the environment. Even then, it must be remembered that high-temperature flash cooking destroys virtually all such organisms.

I do appreciate that many people take the view that that "use by" dates are there for a purpose but it should be remembered that they are are a guideline imposed upon canners via legislation.

I'm old enough to remember when tinned food never had "use by" or "sell by" dates stamped upon it and like millions of others, they never did me any harm. Would worldwide calamity really arise if these dates were removed from canned foodstuffs tomorrow?

[theprof]

Randyraven, as I said above the expiry dates are there simply to comply with legislation.

In theory such dates would legally excuse the canners from prosecution in the event that the consumer contracted botulism etc from the can contents with possible fatal consequences. Personally, I've not come across any published accounts of such incidents that have been tested at Court.

[heathfield]

Legislation apart, when asked, some manufacturers will say that they consider that the flavour or texture of the contents may not be as good after the expiry date, and that they would prefer you to use the contents while they're still at their best.