CANNING SHELF LIFE

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A friend gave us two cases of tomato juce that are in quart jars. But, the time of canning was done in 1996. are these safe to eat?

DEX

-- DEX (BCDEX@WEBTV.NET), January 12, 2002

Answers

Ive had tomatoes over 5 years old before,,so,,as long as the seal isnt broken,,Id say yes

-- Stan (sopal@net-port.com), January 12, 2002.

I agree with Stan, should be okay. But believe me if its not you WILL know it when you open the jar. PEEEEEUUUUUUUU. Kim :-D

-- Kim in Indiana (kwcountrygirl@aol.com), January 12, 2002.

I would boil it for at least 10 minutes before comsuming it!

-- Ardie/WI (ardie54965@hotmail.com), January 12, 2002.

I'm not so sure you can always smell when something's not safe to eat. I've always been told that botulism has no smell. It's best to listen for the seal as you open it and I'd boil it also. Maybe make tomato soup out of it or use it as a base for a large batch of spaghetti sauce or chili.

-- Rose Marie Wild (wintersongfarm@yahoo.com), January 12, 2002.

Tomatoes are safe, don"t worry about botulism.to much acid. If it is sealed, and no rust, they are fine. I have canned stuff over 6 years old, course been kept in dry, even temp. I would eat it. Irene

-- Irene texas (tkorsborn@cs.com), January 12, 2002.


In the book "Emergency Preparedness and Survival Guide" from Backwoods home magazine, Jackie Clay says in her chapter on long term food storage; "No matter what you read in canning books (the newer ones, of course). on labels, in magazines, and no matter what your neighbor or friend tells you, cannned foods wil last nearly indefinitely." She goes on to say that you MUST store all canned foods home canned or otherwise, in a cool, dry dark place for optimum shelf life. Yes, time causes the loss of some vitamin content, and it is the decline in vitamin content that causes the warning which sounds so dire "use before such and such a date". But you are hungry, really hungry, you won't care if the vitamin content is below national standards. She says her family has home-canned jars of food that were put up at least 20 years ago, and she still uses them. For instance, the cherries our of her dad's orchard, which they parcel out frugally until they get their own trees bearing. They look, smell, and taste great, despite their age. of course, sub-optimal storage conditions can cause the lids to rust and leak, so she always checks and uses jars with lids that look like they are starting to rust first, and always checks for mold, cloudiness, odor, or loss of vacuum, and won't use those that are suspicious. Personally, I am most concerned about canned meat. Somewhere I heard, a long time ago, that canned meat is most at risk for botulism, which is indeed tasteless and odorless. Hope this helps! :-)

-- Debbie in Mo (risingwind@socket.net), January 12, 2002.

Oh my DEX. The memories!.... Dug under the old log cabin to see what Grandma had put on the shelves that had caved in over the years (about 40 yrs ago). As a little kid I was lowered by hand into that dark spidery place to fetch jars of whatever for dinner. CREEPY. Yup...we found preserved wild raspberrys. Wouldn't touch them with a 10 foot pole. I remember those pies. Mostly seeds! LOL. We put them back and reburied them. Ha. Let the archaeologists find them. They will really be worth something next generation ahead. Love to all,

-- Susan in Northern Michigan (cobwoman@yahoo.com), January 12, 2002.

One more thing to look for when opening old canned stock is the bottom of the lid. I've had some tomatoes that were only a year or 2 old but the lid seemed barely sealed. These have invariably had a few rust spots inside the lid. Never trusted anything where that happened. At same time, have had 5 to 8 year old canned goods where one really has to pry hard to remove the lid. Those have always been OK to eat. So, you decide if the weak seal and rust spot on the inside of the lid is worth the risk. Happy canning!

-- Martin Longseth (paquebot@merr.com), January 12, 2002.

It is NOT true that ALL tomatoes are safe; that they have enough acid. There are many newer tomato varieties that do not have enough acid to can safely without other ingredients.

Also, you cannot always smell bad canned food. Especially, botulism!

I would rather can my own, so I know what variety the tomatoes are or eat more recent canned items from others.

-- hmm (h.m.metheny@att.net), January 13, 2002.


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