Buying Food at the Dented Can/Salvage Grocery Store (Vanity)

Freerepublic ^ | 3/30/2010 | Dallas59

[Dallas59]

Has anyone shopped at a Salvage Grocery store? They sell dented canned goods, expired/best if sold by foods, slow/no sell foods. I've heard you can save a bunch. Is it safe to buy food from there? Just asking...thanks.

[chris_bdba]

Many states have laws that prevent the selling of dented cans because of the chance of botchulism is much greater so be aware of that chance.

[hennie pennie]

HERE’s a posting for you to comment on, that couponing saves lots more money than shopping at a a scratch & dent store.

[vetvetdoug]

Don’t buy flippers, swellers or seam damaged cans. Look closely at the dry goods, pasta, grits and rice for small larvae (Tribolius confusm) or fine dust in the bottom of the packages. A lesson in food storage from the military would help guide you to buy wholesome.

[Sacajaweau]

I have Aldi’s around the corner....save sa lot of money..Bread is a dollar a loaf cheaper, Milk, eggs and dairy products are cheaper. Everything I’ve gotten is excellent quality.

[Carley]

DON’T BUY DENTED CANS

[hennie pennie]

I didn't save the links, but a few years back, the U.S. Army opened up LOTS of canned goods from the 1970s and they were astounded to find that the food was FINE, and all of it was SAFE to eat.

So it's my impression that except for slight changes in color & texture, IF the food was commercially canned with NO dents & NO pinpoint holes, that one can safely eat most canned food for at least a decade after the "best by" date -- and of course, one MUST store the cans in a cool spot.

[familyop]

If the can is dented near a seal and causes a vacuum leak, you can get botulism and die from eating the contents. In supermarket management during the ‘70s and before, we avoided selling canned foods with dents. But the justice and tort system has changed.

[traderrob6]

Aldi has been around for 25 years.

[Freddd]

The sell by date is bogus.

It simply means a company ‘guarantees’ the nutrition, for a specific amount of time...

the food inside a can , can be good for decades. Although it might, might, lose a small amount of some vitamin...

[hennie pennie]

People interested in the shelf life of dried foods and/or canned goods, here are MANY studies, all on one page.

That U.S. Army food I referred to was tested after forty six years.

http://grandpappy.info/hshelff.htm

[HungarianGypsy]

We do many times. They buy from the restaurant suppliers and will often have frozen food that is wonderful as well.

[Phlap]

So long as u don’t mind a little botulism. lol

[hennie pennie]

Say, if you happen to be really hurting for money and having difficulty finding enough money to stock up on sales & clearance tables at the grocery store, there's a "trick" I read about that we tried for a couple weeks, and we found it actually worked.

It's quite simple. Next time you're at the grocery store, buy long grain white rice. Then prepare a bunch of it, and store it in ONE-CUP containers in the refrigerator. EVERY single day, every person in the family MUST consume one cup of the white rice, more if they want it. LOL

It's amazing how filling that stuff is, but you might not notice the very first week, but by the end of the second you will. It frees up lots of the grocery budget, if you come across something at a fantastic price, but just can't afford, you actually CAN make room in the food budget.

Another thing about eating a cup or two of rice daily, is that you'll have a far better idea of how your family can truly exist foodwise on long tern storage foods.

I've also read on some of the frugality websites that another way to save money is to buy large quantities of Rice Noodles at oriental grocery stores, and that if you research online, you can sometimes find bulk items your family likes becoming far cheaper if you purchase a very large bag -- e.g., one hundred pound bag of white rice is much cheaper per serving than 50 of the two-pound bags at the grocery store.

[sbMKE]

Aldi products are so full of processed chemicals and high fructose corn syrup that it can safely be labeled imitation food.

Good luck with your diabetes and heart disease. It’s beyond crap - the type of junk that is responsible for widespread obesity in America.

But it is a bit cheaper, yes.

[hennie pennie]

IF there was a serious problem with botulism from the scratch & dent stores, no way would local health departments allow them to remain open for long.

[Sherman Logan]

I have seen little indication it varies much in this way from the standard run of food products at Walmart or Kroger.

Most of what’s sold at the “normal” grocery store is “imitation food.”

[Sherman Logan]

you can sometimes find bulk items your family likes becoming far cheaper if you purchase a very large bag -- e.g., one hundred pound bag of white rice is much cheaper per serving than 50 of the two-pound bags at the grocery store.

Good idea if you can get to it all before it spoils.

[Lazamataz]

you miss seeing the bulge in a can and you open it up the food will usually spew out of the can, don’t eat it.

My motto: "If the food spews out of the can, I'm gonna spew into the can."

[Constitutions Grandchild]

I’m still a victim of my mother’s cautionary tales. I’m sure the canning process today is vastly different from when she was a girl. She said small dents were okay, but nothing (as others have said) that causes structural damage to the can and no bulges. As to the sell by date — I guess it all depends upon what it is you’re buying.

[djf]

Here in the northwest it’s Grocery Outlet, Bargain Market

The stuff I’ve seen there is not so much dents, as it is off-label brands that you don’t see in the main stores. Also, I suspect they get stuff in if it’s getting closer to the “sell by” date.

I saw a case of Top Ramen there for 3.49, which adds up to what, like 11 cents each?

Most of the stuff I get there is going into storage. Last week when I left I had a FULL cart, and I mean FULL, and it was like 32 bucks. But it was literally enough food to feed me by myself for a month!!