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Frozen food: slowly. Canned food (if still hermetically sealed): never. The "going bad" concerns quality/taste, not safety. I've had a few occasions where some

Frozen food: slowly. Canned food (if still hermetically sealed): never. The "going bad" concerns quality/taste, not safety. I've had a few occasions where someone cleared out cabinets in their kitchen, and gave contents away. General findings: Dry stuff (pasta, cookies, rice, beans, spices, etc): fine for years (if not a decade+) past its best-before date. Canned food: if hermetic seal is intact, it's edible. Personal record: ~25y old fruit cocktail. Physical structure was poor and taste was bland, but it was edible. For fresh foods like meat, dairy, vegetables etc: look, feel & sniff. It's almost always obvious when it's gone bad.

selectodude 2y ago
Spices aren’t going to make you sick but they don’t actually taste like anything after a couple months.
- mrec 2y ago
  My black pepper is BBE Jan 2006 but still tastes peppery.
  - hi-v-rocknroll 2y ago
    Dried spices vary by volatility and oxidizability. I tried some 10 year old saffron kept in a corked vial, and it really didn't do much. I basically had to use the whole thing to get any yellow out of it, probably $20 worth.
  - Vegemeister 2y ago
    Probably doesn't smell peppery, though, especially if it's pre-ground.
Merad 2y ago
> Canned food: if hermetic seal is intact, it's edible. Definitely not a universal truth. Canned food can develop botulism, you do not want to mess with it. Any cans that are bulged or show signs of swelling should be discarded - don't even risk opening them. There are guys on YouTube who explore old army rations (which were basically all canned food prior to the 1980s), and when they decide to open a bulged can "for science" they will often literally break out a gas mask. That said, it's also not terribly uncommon for them to find rations dating back to WW2 and older that are still partially edible.
- Dylan16807 2y ago
  > Canned food can develop botulism I don't think that has much to do with age though. Sometimes canning is done wrong.
- portaouflop 2y ago
  Botulism indicates that the can has a hole somewhere or was compromised during packaging.

selectodude 2y ago

Spices aren’t going to make you sick but they don’t actually taste like anything after a couple months.

mrec 2y ago
My black pepper is BBE Jan 2006 but still tastes peppery.
- hi-v-rocknroll 2y ago
  Dried spices vary by volatility and oxidizability. I tried some 10 year old saffron kept in a corked vial, and it really didn't do much. I basically had to use the whole thing to get any yellow out of it, probably $20 worth.
- Vegemeister 2y ago
  Probably doesn't smell peppery, though, especially if it's pre-ground.

Merad 2y ago

> Canned food: if hermetic seal is intact, it's edible. Definitely not a universal truth. Canned food can develop botulism, you do not want to mess with it. Any cans that are bulged or show signs of swelling should be discarded - don't even risk opening them. There are guys on YouTube who explore old army rations (which were basically all canned food prior to the 1980s), and when they decide to open a bulged can "for science" they will often literally break out a gas mask. That said, it's also not terribly uncommon for them to find rations dating back to WW2 and older that are still partially edible.

Dylan16807 2y ago
> Canned food can develop botulism I don't think that has much to do with age though. Sometimes canning is done wrong.
portaouflop 2y ago
Botulism indicates that the can has a hole somewhere or was compromised during packaging.