So it is October, I just ate a can of chicken that had a best by date of 1-12-16.
I didn’t notice any bad smells or taste. The can wasn’t dented.
Do I need to make myself vomit or am I fine? I know there are stories of people eating canned foods that are decades past their date. But this is chicken.
That says I’m fine, you are fine 2-5 years past the expiration date. We will see.
Unless the can is bulging or has a bad smell when opened (compared to regular canned meat I guess), you are fine.
There are legally mandated requirements to put something on there, and also it’s best by not nontoxic by.
Fine someone you do not like, and puke on them.
It depends on the jurisdiction. There is no federal requirement to label cans with a date (cite from USDA). That USDA page also lists the different kinds of dates and says “A ‘Best if Used By (or Before)’ date is recommended for best flavor or quality. It is not a purchase or safety date.” and also "‘Use-by’ dates usually refer to best quality and are not safety dates. Even if the date expires during home storage, a product should be safe, wholesome and of good quality if handled properly. "
I would say you are perfectly fine eating canned food less than a year after its Best By date, unless of course if the food smells bad or the can is bulging.
–Mark
If the can was intact and it tasted OK, you should be fine.
This topic always reminds me of the scene from Married…with Children:
“Peggy, this box of popcorn says to use before January 1972.”
“Now Marcy, what it really says is, best if used before January 1972!”
You’ll be fine, I’m quite certain. Canned food is indeed safe for consumption for years, provided the seal is not broken. It may lose vitamins, color, and taste “canny”. Best to keep an eye on dates and try to eat things before they get too much past the best by date.
Only infant formula has a federal product date.
As others said, it is fine. Canning does a remarkable job of preserving food and you will know when it goes bad. Botulism is deadly but very rare and it generates tell-tale signs like deformed cans.
I was thrilled when I found a huge and long-lost treasure trove of MRE’s that my father brought home with him when he separated from the National Guard right after the Vietnam War. Those things had been sitting out in a shed for 12 years at that point in temperatures cycling well below freezing to over 115 F for years at a time. The chewing gum crumbled and the cigarettes were rotten but the canned food tasted reasonably fine. I took it camping with me until the many cases of it were all gone. I can still taste those metallic spaghetti and meatballs. It was kind of like Chef Boyardee with aluminum foil sprinkles but not really that bad as long as you smoked it a little first. I certainly never got sick from any of it.
As hinted at above: It is a **best **by date, not a date at which it suddenly become poisonous.
I have cream in my fridge with a best by date over two weeks ago. There are some bottles of sauce that I bought in a sale that are over a year over. These things are both a guide for us consumers and an ass-covering exercise by producers. Use your own judgement.
Yeah, if the can is sound and intact, the contents are pretty much OK forever - non-living chemical processes (especially if driven by temperature cycling) may eventually turn the contents into something that hardly resembles food any more - proteins break down into amino acids; fats go rancid, etc, but if the canning process worked properly, the contents should be aseptic and should never actually spoil in the sense of pathogenic decay.
I always trust advice on consuming expired canned food from thelurkinghorror. You can’t go wrong.
Seriously, the OP should be fine. But this is a good time to make sure your list of emergency phone numbers is up to date.
I’ve used salad dressing where the best-by date was before I realized bottled salad dressing was even a thing.
You should never bother paying attention to the dates printed on food packages. If something smells or tastes bad, it’s bad. If something is green or blue when it’s not supposed to be, it’s bad. If canned food is bulging, it’s bad. Otherwise, it’s fine.
I once found way in the back of the cupboard one of those little packs of tuna salad and crackers that was six years beyond the “best buy” date and cautiously ate it with no bad effects. It was definitely unpalatable but caused no noticeable gastric distress. Had I been (literally) starving, I’m sure it would have been delicious.
Natick labs’ estimate of three to five years’ storage for MREs depending on the temperature is based on taste issues, not nutrition loss, much less morphing into something that could harm you.
Interesting question. Making yourself vomit is normally a bad idea. It’s a bit dangerouse, and it’s not very effective. If you think youi’ve have botulinum poisoning, from a blown can, fill up on activated charcoal.
But if you had been eating improperly prepared, salmonella infected, chicken, what would the best defense be?
I speculate that eating activated charcoal would decrease your stomach acidity, increasing the risk of salmonella infection ???
Any thoughts ???
The same thing is true for people of any age who have swallowed some kind of poison. If you’re supposed to throw it up, you will anyway, which is why that bodily function exists in the first place.
It has been 72 hours, other than the blindness I’ve had no symptoms. Sweet.
There is a community of guys out there that review military rations, and this guy:
Steve1989’s MRE Reviews: Steve1989 MRE Reviews (Military Rations) - YouTube
Has opened and eaten c-rations up to 40+ years old. Not all of them last that long, but it’s pretty obvious when they’re bad.