Food that was safely processed stays safe. It doesn't become "unsafe" during the time it stays on the shelf, no matter how long that may be, as long as the seal is intact.

In 1865 the steamboat Bertrand sank in the Missouri river. In 1968 a variety of canned goods were retrieved from the wreck. In 1974 those foods, including oysters, plum tomatoes and mixed vegetables were tested by the National Food Processors' Association. Their chemists found no bacterial growth; even after 100+ years the food was still safe to eat.

Food kept too long loses color, texture, nutrient value and flavor. How long that takes depends on the food.

But as long as you find the product enjoyable for your family's taste, it's fine to eat.

Carol

Thanks, Carol. The French onion soup makes a nice liquid for a roast and the tomato products have gone into spaghetti sauces. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with them other than I don't care for them on their own.

Shelf Life has also to do with nutritional quality / value, taste, chemical decomposition. So bacterial growth is not the only thing. IMO.

Shelf life is the safety, but personal preference is just as important. If you wouldn't eat it, it doesn't matter how 'safe' it is. Yes desperate people will eat anything, but are you that desperate?

Like I said, I don't like these particular products to just open up the jar and eat on their own but definitely like them mixed in with other things. I didn't care for the seasonings I put in them. They don't seem to have any composition problems. Not wanting to waste them doesn't seem "desperate" to me.

No, but if you don't like them AT ALL, just need food, that's desperate. I've thrown a lot away this last month or so, mainly because we were able to replace them with new and better. I wouldn't want to use them, and they will become part of the compost pile.

I will say one last thing on this. I asked a simple question and a well respected poster gave me a simple answer, which I thanked her for. As for the whole "desperation" thing, so what if it is?! I find it a little offensive that in this day and age someone would find the need to point that out. Sometimes online it is easy to come across a certain way that you don't intend but your intent seems obvious and I don't understand why you should care whether I am horridly desperate and in need of food or not. I don't know many people who would make an issue of it.

There are many people here who have canned up a recipe and decided that it wasn't entirely to their liking once processed and used the product in another way. I will use the products since they are safe and will make sure not to send you any for a Christmas gift.

gardengal, like you we often find ways to use 3, 4, and even 5 year old jars of stuff we find with very good results. Some foods tolerate it just fine.

In fact some of our canning is regularly done on a 3 year cycle. So I wouldn't hesitate to use the jars you found.

One often reads 5 years as a recommended time limit but as Carol said decades old food is still safe, and may even still be quite tasty. :)

Dave

Thanks Dave, that is good to know. I had been going through the pantry and discovered some jars that had basically fallen by the wayside. We decorated our spare room (which I previously used as my pantry) for my new granddaughter and when DH relocated the jars...no rhyme or reason, LOL. I do try to rotate things out but it got away from me.
I personally don't can for the economics of it but more so for a personal satisfaction and respect for the food I grow or buy. To give my family a meal in December that involves veggies that I grew from seed in the summer does give me some satisfaction. I wouldn't want to waste them when I can repurpose them. Not to mention the time and effort, even if it were a labor of love, LOL. Lori

Sorry if I offended you.

I can for the economics and the ability of know what is in my jars, due to health reasons. Lots of people are at the stage where they have to decide whether to buy medicines or foods, or at least a lot of people that I know.

SHELF LIFE ,

Without getting personal here, it is an interesting topic.
In the food industry it is called EXPIRATION date or recommended date to be used before that date.

To my understanding, in the canning process we might be able to destroy all the microbes so there wont be anymore growth of them, BUT other than microbes, changes take place within the food CHEMICALLY. Foods are made of compounds that have certain composition. Those compositions often can break down into component or act/react with one another. No chemical composition is 100% stable..

So then by aging beyond a certain time the food quality and nutritional value can decline. We can even often tell by simple tasting the difference between fresh and old food without a need for chemical analysis.

Apology accepted. We are all entitled to our passionate opinions;)