In Pennsylvania there are many salvage grocery stores. They sell overstock and out of date products.
I shop in them every chance I can. You learn, stay away from cereals and any product that has an oil that can go rancid. With grains like rice and oat meal, you learn to inspect for bugs as they can get in long before the expiration date.
I can, freeze, dehydrate and freeze dry a lot of food as I grew up poor on a farm and you always preserved the harvest.
I’m careful, using moisture absorbers, oxygen absorbers, nitrogen flushes, and put pasta, flour, and grain products in the freezer for a week after purchase to kill any insects or eggs. I vacuum seal it in smaller bags with oxygen absorbers, then place several of these bags in a sealed mylar bag for longer term storage.
The freeze dryer is amazing. It retains 98% of the nutrients and tastes great several years later. I have a Harvest Right XL with seven large trays that allows me to freeze dry a 40 lb box of bananas at a time. (The grandchildren love them for snacks). I often freeze dry food before the expiration date to preserve it for a longer term.
Freeze drying does not kill or remove food contaminates like bacteria. You are freeze drying the bacteria and it will reactivate when you hydrate the product. You can freeze dry yogurt and years later rehydrate it to start a new batch. The same is true for yeast starters for bread.
I go more by the appearance and smell than expiration dates. If it’s getting old, I’ll often reprocess it into something else. For example, I’m just now making crockpot applebutter to get rid of my old canned applesauce, as I’m making new from current season apples.
It’s all fun. If I didn’t enjoy it, I wouldn’t do it.
I’ve also repurposed old applesauce into apple butter.
And there’s something immensely satisfying to preserving your own harvest that you grew yourself.
I buy only heirloom seeds and am also learning how to save seeds.