I so recognize that behavior, and in our family it has carried on into the boomer generation, my parents and in-laws. Half the food in their house is expired.

I so recognize that behavior, and in our family it has carried on into the boomer generation, my parents and in-laws. Half the food in their house is expired. They have this lifelong habit of needlessly stocking lots of food as well as opening a food package and then not finishing it for way too long. Our parents never experienced a famine yet did experience a different culture of food logistics. Very large families (my mother has 8 siblings) so you need lots of food. Food being more seasonally available only, so stock up. Older houses having deep cold cellars to store food, whilst modern houses don't tend to have that, but they don't unlearn the behavior. Yes, I too have found lots of food expired by years. The most shocking thing is that quite a lot of it looks exactly like it was bought including a salad with an egg on top of it. When you slice a freshly boiled egg and put it at room temperature, it turns dark in an hour. This egg is 8 years old and looks brand new.