More Thoughts on Canned Goods and Food Storage

 

Several weeks ago we established that canned goods are safe to eat far past their expiration date thus a great choice for food storage programs. I received an email from someone saying that they felt tremendous pressure to prepare right now and due to their budget just could not afford to stock up on freeze dried food for the long term. This motivated some additional words on the subject.

Every tragic disaster that takes place ultimately causes the question of “What now?” to be asked. More often than not “What are we going to eat?” and”How are we going to get food?” are also asked. This doesn’t have to be in a Third World country as most anyone who has experienced the loss of a job or some other major financial personal SHTF has asked similar questions.

 

The Food Storage Solution

The answer for most of us is fairly simple – stock up on food……now.

Shopping sales and using coupons can make canned goods very affordable. Discount food stores such as Aldi’s and Save-A-Lot often have incredibly low prices. SAM’s Club offers extra large cans of vegetables at extremely reasonable prices reducing the cost per serving. There are many options for including large quantities of canned food in any food storage program.

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“My father and my Uncle Harry were both kids during the great depression so they learned to always have something put up just in case. The only thing we had or could afford is when the A&P had a canned goods sale, which would then go in the “cellar.” Rarely was the safety of the canned goods questioned. If anyone ever questioned the safety, they’d say; “don’t eat it, more fer me.” We’d all just shut up and dig in.”

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As the quote above suggests the safety of canned goods are rarely an issue. Lacking dents and bulging the food inside should be completely safe to eat. Something bad such as botulism cannot just appear inside the can once it’s sealed. It would have to not only be present – but also survive the canning process itself. Canned goods are extremely safe.

 

Food Storage Solution: Canned Goods

Canned goods continue to be a major part of my own food storage program. There is nothing wrong with other options such as freeze dried foods or bulk packed rice, beans, wheat, and pasta. These are all part of my own system but the point needs to be made and understood that canned goods should NOT be considered secondary or a lesser means which to stock up.

A fantastic and effective food storage program can be built around using canned goods.

Rourke

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35 Comments

  1. KT says:

    As for maximizing the investment in canned goods, I would recommend investing in a food dehydrator. I like to buy the large utility size (#10) cans and then dehydrate the contents. Storage afterwards would best be by vacuum sealing in plastic bags or in mylar bags with oxygen absorbers. This would also apply to dehydrating frozen vegetables. They go on sale around holidays, have already been processed to inactivate the enzymes which would ruin the frozen food. Just arrange on the dehydrator trays and turn on the unit for the temperature correct for the veggie. (That requires investing in a book about dehydrating food).

      1. Brenda says:

        When purchasing a dehydrator; please get one that has the fan in the back as they dry food faster than those that have no fan or are the bottom.

    1. JJ says:

      I let Kroger’s do the work for me..at 99¢ a bag for frozen vegetables, they pick, peel, shell, clean, blanch, and I just use my dehydrator straight fromtheir freezer to mine.
      Thanks Kroger’s and Aldi’s. 🙂

  2. StevefromMA says:

    Food dehydrator works great, even if you just store stuff in ziploc or Mason jars. Twenty bucks pstpd gets a good one.

    OT but I thought of while using today. Betadine solution is an iodine-based antiseptic bactericide that surgeons use to prep you before surgery. It is very effective, inexpensive, and comes in at least one size I use, about a two inch tall plastic squeeze canister perfect for EDC bag. Check it out.

  3. John Gault says:

    I’ve built up a small stockpile of mostly canned goods, maybe a 3 month supply for 2. It was easy and buying on-sale, from Aldi’s and Sam’s club made it very cost effective. Buy what you eat and eat what you buy…… I buy canned soup, beans, corn, potatoes and fruits by the case. I buy various canned meats. Add to this your dry goods like pasta, rice, flour, bread mixes and the like and you’ll have a good variety.

  4. Doomsday says:

    I hear you rourke, I constantly get harassed by my brother, daughter, etc about expired food, exspecaily can goods! They all say you can’t eat that, lol, I’m now eating stores of can goods well over 5 years passed there expectoration dates, and the ONLY reason I’m eating them now is I live in Florida and they are getting rusty, I’ve even had a couple break open from the rust, so I’m clearing out all the cans, taking along time but I’m getting through them, and I’ve not tasted a single bad item yet!!! 5 years and older, and they taste like I bought them yesterday, so I’ll go a few months cleaning out my pantry saving a ton on groceries, but I’ll be saving money to replace those as I go, and when i get that great sale, ill restalk, saving even more money 💰 it amazes me how people are so opinionated about food, how long it last, they waste so much…

    1. JR says:

      Excellent start and similar to my own efforts. My canned good supply has actually dwindled a bit lately and I need to replenish. Aldi’s is my friend. As my group completes our storage shed at the retreat I’ll be moving much of my food there. I’ll add a good amount of rice, beans, and pasta in buckets/totes at that point.

    2. jJ says:

      Tell your family I eat canned goods with best by dates 2011 (the earliest).

      They’re fine…not so much for the cheese and macaroni boxes. One so far from 2012 was not good, but another was…at my house, the rule is don’t discard until tested.
      Those boxes may have been placed on the grocery shelf same time, but from warehouse, a different matter.
      Home canned a different matter–good for 20 years.

  5. CaptTurbo says:

    Hmmm, I have some canned food in storage but I don’t eat the stuff. I eat fresh veggies daily from the garden. Not sure why I keep all those cans of garbage.

    1. JJ says:

      If your garden fails, and the economy has collapsed which is why I stock food, then you will be glad for those canned goods…..esp. if water is scarce!!:-(

  6. Firehawk says:

    Also remember that canned veggies and the like have liquid in them. Don’t throw it out when you open the can. You can use it to keep hydrated.

  7. goingray58 says:

    Agree with the canned food topic…. I will say that it isn’t good to travel with if you have to leave. It’s heavy and takes up space. If you have a location, consider pre positioning it… Dehydration is liter or course.. and we can presume that we know we will need water and treat it to prevent illness. (water borne illness is the number one killer in most grid down situations). Anyway you can rehydrate when cooked or soaked etc.
    One thing to consider dehydrating is rive. Cook it then dehydrate it and pack it. On the go it takes far less energy (heat) to warm water and rehydrate rice that cook it. Same with potatoes.etc.
    Freeze dried foods keep by far longer under adverse condition than dehydrated food.
    But commercially prepared is very expensive. Did you know that LDS freeze dries and cans foods ? and that you can walk in and buy it and not be a church member ? There is not a distribution center close to me, but maybe to you. It might be a budget conscious option.
    random thoughts
    GG58

    1. JR says:

      GG58 – excellent points all around and the LDS cannery is an excellent choice. I have visited one about an hour away several times. I believe they utilize dehydrated foods rather than freeze dried.You can do mail order with them as well.

    1. Badger359 says:

      Good job Jim. If you bake look into winter wheat or hard red wheat and oats. You can grind it down into flour as needed.

  8. Cathy says:

    Great article, I also stock up on can goods and never had a bad one in 60 yrs. I grew up on can food along with fresh. My parents always put food up and looked for sales just in case something happened! We know the pain of loss of a home and health, so I went into high gear 15 yrs ago, and now we are prepared, so learn a life lesson and put away foods for your families,Thanks for the info!!!!!

  9. Prepperdaddy says:

    Some thoughts… whiIe i do have commercial canned goods, all of my meat is what I have canned in glass jars, don’t know if it will ever expire. I am eating Tuna I canned in 2008 now. As to storing bulk items, I use Corney Kegs. They are stainless steel, have a 4″ lid and are easy to purge/pressurize. They can be spendy but I keep an eye on Craigslist list and get when I can.

  10. Nat says:

    My wife and I can and sore canned goods along with Vacuum packing along with our dehydrated food. We have a fairly decent set up. All dry goods are vacuum packed in glass jars. One thing I never read about and I am learning is eating one meal a day. My wife and I do it and we find we have more energy on less food. I am sure this statement might spark a debate.

    1. goingray58 says:

      I’ve tried 1, 2, 3 4 and 6 meals a day. Our bodies are marvelously flexible and adaptable. That improves survivability over a larger range of conditions and environments. I got better use out of the food with more smaller meals given the calories were equal. From my perspective more smaller meals requires more discipline, because we tend to eat 3-4 servings instead of 1, because you never really get that full feeling. For me it was better suited to continuous labor with a more consistent energy supply. Scientifically you only get so much out of what you eat, because the outside surface of the food is where it is absorbed in the small intestine. The more surface area the more absorption you get, so more smaller meals gives us access to more nutrition for the same number of calories. (caveat : some medical conditions require more meals, for consistent blood sugar etc…. as do some medications). I’ve also tried diet that segregates carbs and proteins/vegetable volumes by meal based on activity. Meaning an AM carb load with protein and fruit, lighter on the crabs daytime and then another carb load for end of day. But different types of carbs AM and PM. If I have a heavy physical work load midday I’ll do carbs then, but it’s the only time I do any kind of sugars (Honey, molasses etc). The mid-day crabs when working is hard to even remember I tend to stay busy and skip it, and then overeat in the evening. The carbs on either end of the day are AM (complex or Great Grains, evening is other vegetable starches and beer .. yeah I said beer). Now that is the plan.. and give that I like certain foods and am an imperfect human, I don’t always follow it. Like Jerry Clower once said sometimes “I get a cravin flung on me”. That is usually an emotional decision than my body asking for it as I try to convince myself.

      If you look at food as fuel, you want the best fuel and nutrition you can get for the calories you can afford at the register and on the belt line. It makes no sense to use high calorie nutrition. That of course is the least food….
      The reason I tried so many different meal numbers and sizes over the years is you just don’t know how well it will work for you until you try it, AND it changes with age, stress levels and medical conditions as we age. getting older aint for sissies but it’s better than the alternative. My .02
      GG58

    1. goingray58 says:

      JJ me I knew..
      I keep bees.
      It should be local to your area and not the mass produced stuff stuff or China imports… The mass produced is heated and pasteurized so it basically honey flavored syrup .. with all the good stuff killed off.. From your area of the country it helps with the local allergies etc.. because the bees use the local plants to produce the honey. It also cannot spoil.. and can be used to fill a cut or scrape and an antibiotic… I produced about 28 gallons last year .. err my bees did anyway ..
      Me I just worked and got stung and extracted etc.. Which they were not happy about .. GG58

      1. JJ says:

        I only buy real honey from a community 17 miles from home.
        People don’t realize the diet of the bees (environment) affects the taste.
        UMMM..Ummmm…good!!!

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