There was no drop dead date on it. I would assume, as I assume with all canned foods that it's about 25 years. I don't make that assumption lightly. I've taught food safety classes to young airmen, for both federal and State certifications.
Dented cans are bad. Swelled cans are bad. Throw them away. Don't open them and contaminate the kitchen.
Open undented and unswelled cans and look at and smell of the contents. If it looks ok, and smells ok, it generally is ok.
This is just for commercial canned products, and not home canned. And it is not official advice, it's just what I do in my real world.
/johnny
Well, I guess I can throw away the c-rats I saved from my Marine Corps days. Darn.
How about MREs? What's the drop dead durability of MREs?
That’s pretty much my procedure, too. I’ve taken up home canning in the last year, just the easy stuff that I can water bath.
There’s a pressure canner on my Christmas list, though.
I put back a bushel of fresh Michigan peaches last fall and ate them over the winter. Nothing better than a peach in the middle of January. LOL! I bought the “eat them today” bushel and man are they tasty. I’m down to my last jar. Next year I’m doing two.
I made a dozen jars of home made apple butter, too. My grandmother used to can that stuff and I loved it as a kid. It ain’t bad as a grown-up, neither.
I’m in your debt for digging through the trash. Have a great weekend!