I have had a couple cans go bad in the past, and there is/was zero doubt that they were unsafe. Bulging to the point of being explosive, bad odor when opened (a few I simply buried whole).
prepper ping!
You cannot be too careful!
I’ve had pretty good luck so far. Some cans I missed on rotation that were 6 years old. Still good. I have seen some swell in tomato sauce after 5 years.
I quit storing tomato based products for longer periods. Too acidy. Just won’t keep.
I wonder if canned food would last longer if it was irradiated
The problem with botulism is it doesn’t smell bad or taste bad, and cooking won’t neutralize the poison it produces.
I worked for a major hotel chain and it was a firing offense to buy mushrooms canned in China. Those are the most likely to have botulism.... both because the mushrooms are not acid, and because the chinese don’t have the same standards we have for canning.
So basically, if the can looks or acts like A. Weiner, throw it away.
A few years ago I had several cans that showed bulging. Strangely, one was large can of sliced apples and another was a can of apple pie filling.
I toss any bulging cans.
A couple of days ago I was making a cheeseburger and for some reason got a whiff of the Kraft Mayonnaise. It had just a bit of spoiled smell. Not that bad but just enough I was suspicious.
I looked at the use by date and it was a few months past it. That really surprised me as my refrigerator is right about 34 degrees. As luck would have it, I had just bought another jar as this one was getting towards empty.
I looked at the date on the new one and it was only good for about 7 more months. I will have to start checking closer.
Watch out buttulinum - bad meat in the can.
The only case of botulism in my area that I can remember in the last twenty years was the case of an area woman who had made her own canned or glassed preserves. She opened one of her jars of carrots and tasted it. She became extremely ill and almost died. After reading about that incident, I’m careful about accepting homemade canned goods.
In the last couple of years I am having to change what I used to post about canned food, I am running into many issues, including a bunch of low sodium Spam cans that bulged well before the expiration date, Spam is supposed to last indefinitely.
I even have a bulging Tuna can from 2004, and other products like canned peppers.
Preppers’ PING!!
Hat tip to djf for the heads-up!
“a few I simply buried whole”
And a few centuries from now, an archaelogist will dig them up and conclude that the American civilization declined from eating botulism-ridden canned goods.
Coming from a country background with a Lot of home canning in glass jars, there are stories of finding stashes of canned (jars, not cans) goods fifteen and twenty years old that have been perfectly preserved. Not recommended, of course, but I never think anything about opening a can of green beens three years old that was home processed. It’s a simple enough procedure and is a satisfying hobby!
My can has been bulging since I turned 50...
I always check the CVS store shelves of food items when waiting for a prescription. They occasionally have 1LB. Dak canned hams on sale for 2 for $5.00...half price (Thanks for the tip Kart!). I found them on sale this past week. However, all the cans were more or less “stuck” to the shelf because one can had leaked. I decided to pass on the whole lot rather than hunt down the leaker and assume I’d found the only one. As ‘they’ say, better safe than sorry.