# Home canned goods: Shelf life expectancy?



## gatorglockman

Greetings. I did my searches and read the awesome shelf life sticky prior to posting.

I am doing my homework on canning with the wife and my folks, and I want to get the goods and get into the game. I found this great government reference:

National Center for Home Food Preservation

One thing I need more insight on or that I am missing is probable shelf life on home canned goods if stored in a dark temp controlled environment.

Can anyone provide some guidance or links on this?

If I missed it in my searches....I apologize in advance .


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## JayJay

Sorry...no guidance, no links.
I had canned green beans for almost 30 years.......and for canned tomato juice and canned tomatoes, over 20.
I know because I canned them in 1982, moved them to new house in 1992, used them for many years until all tomatoes and juice gone right before 2006 ..and still have green beans in my pantry in this house......


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## partdeux

They're good until they go bad 

I have read the food begins losing nutritional value after 18 months. I will also tell you my sister ate some spaghetti sauce that was 15 years old. Not sure I would eat something that old!


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## UncleJoe

Shelf Life of Canned and Dry Foods by Robert Wayne Atkins, P.E. - Grandpappy

*Canned Food Study One*

A Food and Drug Administration Article about a shelf life test that was conducted on 100-year old canned foods that were retrieved from the Steamboat Bertrand can be read at the following link:

The Canning Process: Old Preservation Technique Goes Modern (September 1990)

Following is a brief summary of a very small portion of the above article:

"Among the canned food items retrieved from the Bertrand in 1968 were brandied peaches, oysters, plum tomatoes, honey, and mixed vegetables. In 1974, chemists at the National Food Processors Association (NFPA) analyzed the products for bacterial contamination and nutrient value. Although the food had lost its fresh smell and appearance, the NFPA chemists detected no microbial growth and determined that the foods were as safe to eat as they had been when canned more than 100 years earlier. The nutrient values varied depending upon the product and nutrient. NFPA chemists Janet Dudek and Edgar Elkins report that significant amounts of vitamins C and A were lost. But protein levels remained high, and all calcium values 'were comparable to today's products.'"

"NFPA chemists also analyzed a 40-year-old can of corn found in the basement of a home in California. Again, the canning process had kept the corn safe from contaminants and from much nutrient loss. In addition, Dudek says, the kernels looked and smelled like recently canned corn."

"According to a recent study cosponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and NFPA, canned foods provide the same nutritional value as fresh grocery produce and their frozen counterparts when prepared for the table. NFPA researchers compared six vegetables in three forms: home-cooked fresh, warmed canned, and prepared frozen. 'Levels of 13 minerals, eight vitamins, and fiber in the foods were similar,' says Dudek. In fact, in some cases the canned product contained high levels of some vitamins that in fresh produce are destroyed by light or exposure to air."

*Canned Food Study Two*

A canned food shelf life study conducted by the U.S. Army revealed that canned meats, vegetables, and jam were in an excellent state of preservation after 46 years.


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## kejmack

I remember my grandmother using veggies she had canned 10 years before.


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## lotsoflead

when things get real bad and people get real hungry,(not just missed a meal hungry)but belly aching hungry the shelf life dates will change by yrs and so will what and how people eat change, anyone ever watched the WW2 military pictures of people in Europe out in the street skinning a dead horse or scraping a garbage can, boiling an old shoe because it was either horse or cow hide, scraping wall paper paste off the walls because it used to be made of flour and water?Some Russian women had to decide which kid they would let starve because another kid was in better health.
When the family farms started going out of business in the early 70s and everything left up to commericial growers, that was the start of America going down hill.


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## partdeux

nice link UJ!


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## gatorglockman

Thanks gents. I am sold on my need to incorporate this into my planning. I have a few local resources that are willing to show me what to do and I can proof check that against the government guidelines to ensure I am doing it right.

Guess it is time to start shopping for jars, lids and the pots.....


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## mikesolid

UncleJoe said:


> Shelf Life of Canned and Dry Foods by Robert Wayne Atkins, P.E. - Grandpappy
> 
> *Canned Food Study One*
> 
> A Food and Drug Administration Article about a shelf life test that was conducted on 100-year old canned foods that were retrieved from the Steamboat Bertrand can be read at the following link:
> 
> The Canning Process: Old Preservation Technique Goes Modern (September 1990)
> 
> Following is a brief summary of a very small portion of the above article:
> 
> "Among the canned food items retrieved from the Bertrand in 1968 were brandied peaches, oysters, plum tomatoes, honey, and mixed vegetables. In 1974, chemists at the National Food Processors Association (NFPA) analyzed the products for bacterial contamination and nutrient value. Although the food had lost its fresh smell and appearance, the NFPA chemists detected no microbial growth and determined that the foods were as safe to eat as they had been when canned more than 100 years earlier. The nutrient values varied depending upon the product and nutrient. NFPA chemists Janet Dudek and Edgar Elkins report that significant amounts of vitamins C and A were lost. But protein levels remained high, and all calcium values 'were comparable to today's products.'"
> 
> "NFPA chemists also analyzed a 40-year-old can of corn found in the basement of a home in California. Again, the canning process had kept the corn safe from contaminants and from much nutrient loss. In addition, Dudek says, the kernels looked and smelled like recently canned corn."
> 
> "According to a recent study cosponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and NFPA, canned foods provide the same nutritional value as fresh grocery produce and their frozen counterparts when prepared for the table. NFPA researchers compared six vegetables in three forms: home-cooked fresh, warmed canned, and prepared frozen. 'Levels of 13 minerals, eight vitamins, and fiber in the foods were similar,' says Dudek. In fact, in some cases the canned product contained high levels of some vitamins that in fresh produce are destroyed by light or exposure to air."
> 
> *Canned Food Study Two*
> 
> A canned food shelf life study conducted by the U.S. Army revealed that canned meats, vegetables, and jam were in an excellent state of preservation after 46 years.


Thank you for that, I kinda had the same question as the OP and the article you found definately gave me more insight.


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## JayJay

Canned Food Study Two

A canned food shelf life study conducted by the U.S. Army revealed that canned meats, vegetables, and jam were in an excellent state of preservation after 46 years. 


Common sense...thanks Uncle Joe...some just don't have that or weren't handed that when born????:scratch
My tomatoes and tomato juice after 15 years did not lack taste; therefore, they probably had nutrition.

My dh was in NAM in 1970 and 1971---ate sea rations from WWII.:2thumb:


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## The_Blob

JayJay said:


> My dh was in NAM in 1970 and 1971---ate sea rations from WWII.:2thumb:


I thought they were called "*C*" rations? :scratch


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## Graebarde

Storage conditions help a LOT in the shelf-life. As for commercial canned goods, or those in cans, if the can is not bulging, or rusted.. leaking etc, it should be edible. If ANY of the conditions exist though, bury or burn it. They sugguest in most cases it be boiled for a consdiderable time from some information I've seen, even if it appears OK. 

Home canned I woud rotate out much faster I think. Any broken seals, or smell on opening.. definately discard it.. do NOT use a taste test without boiling.. Botulism will kill you with no mercy and it doesn't take a mouthfull to do it.

FB


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