Anonymous wrote:At least one year. My wife is a food nut. I have two full size fridges full of food. A gigantic deep freezer all packed.
Four huge pantry cabinets. I have been battling with her for years. We throw out expired food a lot. Sometimes 2-4 years past expiration if a can or box and frozen meat 1-2 years old.
I threw out stale nestles quick powder a few weeks ago. Tasted funny after kid opened it and put in milk. It expired in 2017
I grew up eating food like this for probably 20 years, not by choice but because we were poor and it was free. 9/10 times things last past expiration for a few years. Except canned tomatoes. Jarred tomatoes have a better shelf life. You can definitely taste/smell/hear when you open or shake that something isn’t right. Can freeze many things like butter, cheese, maple syrup, nuts, flour, sugar, rice, even nestle cocoa to extend the life if you wrap properly. Never got sick off anything, just followed the when in doubt throw it out rule. Store canned/jarred goods in cool dark place. Meat will last a few years if it’s freezer packed properly, either vacuum sealed or wrapped in freezer paper then double freezer bagged. Should try to cycle through freezer foods yearly though. Usually if ice gets on something you can just take a layer off and it’s fine. Thaw and cook it up and see how it tastes first. Slow cooking that type of meat seems ideal. If it’s mostly good, strip off the outside layer and turn it into soup.