Expired cans of tomato sauce & paste???

[bas71873]

I just went through my pantry to list what I have so I can sorta destash and WAY in the back are about 6 cans each of tomato sauce & tomato paste....all with an expiration date of February 2009 . I really hate to just toss them, but hate to make anyone ill either. So, think they would be OK to use to make a few batches of sketti sauce and some other freezable items? How will I know if they are bad? Will it smell?

 

[Justsyd2]

Tomatoes go rancid after sitting for too long. If they are expired, I wouldn't chance it. It's just not worth it! It might be worth it to organize the pantry and put new items behind older ones when you get home from the store.

 

[Halbleib1]

I just went through my pantry to list what I have so I can sorta destash and WAY in the back are about 6 cans each of tomato sauce & tomato paste....all with an expiration date of February 2009 . I really hate to just toss them, but hate to make anyone ill either. So, think they would be OK to use to make a few batches of sketti sauce and some other freezable items? How will I know if they are bad? Will it smell?

As long as they have not rusted through you will be fine using them. Canned goods last well past the use by date. Obviously if they smell or do not look right do not use them. Otherwise you will be fine.



Found this here: http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/Articl...-Labeling-646/food-expiration-dates-faqs.aspx

When do you throw away canned goods from grocery store?
Some, but not all canned goods have "best by" dates printed on the can but most can be stored beyond that date. Rotate your canned goods so that you eat the oldest first within a target date of 1 year. Here are some additional more specific guidelines from the USDA: Store canned foods in a cool, dry place. Low acid foods such as such as meat and vegetables can be store for up to 2 to 5 years. High acid foods can be kept for up to 18 months.

 

[maggiew]

All I know is that I opened a bad can of tomato sauce once (not expired, just had gone bad somehow) and it exploded all over the kitchen. It was a nightmare to clean up. I think we found spots of tomato sauce when we moved out of the apartment years later!!!

I wouldn't chance tomato sauce products. Just toss them. Its not worth it.

Maggie

 

[bas71873]

OK, thanks maggiew.....i am tossing. i sure don't want that headache.

to the other responders, thanks too. i'll be tossing them with the wednesday garbage

pantry is officially cleaned out!

 

[dd50]

As long as they have not rusted through you will be fine using them. Canned goods last well past the use by date. Obviously if they smell or do not look right do not use them. Otherwise you will be fine.



Found this here: http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/Articl...-Labeling-646/food-expiration-dates-faqs.aspx

When do you throw away canned goods from grocery store?
Some, but not all canned goods have "best by" dates printed on the can but most can be stored beyond that date. Rotate your canned goods so that you eat the oldest first within a target date of 1 year. Here are some additional more specific guidelines from the USDA: Store canned foods in a cool, dry place. Low acid foods such as such as meat and vegetables can be store for up to 2 to 5 years. High acid foods can be kept for up to 18 months.

I wouldn't toss them because years ago no cans had expiration dates on them and I never opened a bad can. Like PP said if they aren't rusted or dented they should be fine.

 

[Gigi22]

Food banks will not accept expired goods. I think of that as a good guide for food safety for all.

 

[marlynnp]

Seriously, you want to risk your family's health over $5 worth of canned goods?

 

[disluhypno]

All I know is that I opened a bad can of tomato sauce once (not expired, just had gone bad somehow) and it exploded all over the kitchen. It was a nightmare to clean up. I think we found spots of tomato sauce when we moved out of the apartment years later!!!

I wouldn't chance tomato sauce products. Just toss them. Its not worth it.

Maggie

I did that, except it was with pureed pineapple! I think it fermented somehow, and just couldn't wait to get out. Oh the woes of the kitchen.

 

[DOOM1001]

When I did the Give a Day,Get a Day promotion for Disney we worked at a county warehouse sending canned goods and other items to Haiti for the earthquake relief.We had to sort through boxes of canned goods and they told us to only throw out expired cans that had meat,if they didn't have meat and were expired they told us to keep them.In my opinion if it's expired,it's expired whether it has meat or not but we were just doing what we were told.

 

[dis-happy]

All I know is that I opened a bad can of tomato sauce once (not expired, just had gone bad somehow) and it exploded all over the kitchen. It was a nightmare to clean up. I think we found spots of tomato sauce when we moved out of the apartment years later!!!

I wouldn't chance tomato sauce products. Just toss them. Its not worth it.

Maggie

BTDT too. I can be a little lax with exp. dates, but I don't mess around with tomatoes anymore.

 

[Sadie22]

The best by date is the date when the canner estimates the food will still be at peak quality. It is generally still safe to eat so long as the can is not damaged. If there is any bulging or leakage definitely toss. Otherwise open carefully and inspect and cook very thoroughly.

 

[mdrob214]

Food banks will not accept expired goods. I think of that as a good guide for food safety for all.

Ours takes them--we jsut did a food drive for the scouts. We separated the items by date and they took the expired ones to a special area--to be used right away.

 

[Halbleib1]

I have used many items past the date marked on the item and no one has ever gotten sick. Obviously you have to use common sense. If it does not look or smell right in the trash it goes.

Many people think that cheese is bad if it gets even a hair of mold on it and that is not true at all. All cheese before it gets to us sits to age and grows mold on it. They just cut it off before shipping it out. That is all I do here at home as well. Most hard cheeses only get better with age esp. if it has never been taken out of the original packaging.

Dates on food are not mandated by the government this includes meat as well. The manufacturer/store puts them on as a courtesy to it's customers. I believe they also do it to help themselves as well because they know many people will toss it and buy new after that date even if the item is still good.

Dates on meat esp. can not be trusted as most stores just repackage it and change the date anyhow. So you never really know how long that meat has been sitting on the shelf for before you buy it. Dateline did a few stories on this. They also use carbon dioxide to keep the meat looking red as most people will not buy meat that is brown even though it is still good to eat.

 

[Firstred]

I'd like to give my contribute to anyone else looking for information as I was doing when I found related and useful information in this thread.

I forgot to use two tomato sauce cans and a tomato sauce bottle (glass): the cans had march 2012 as expiration date; the bottle may 2012.

Since it was passed more than a year after the exp. date, I was uncertain about tossing them or not.
After a search I've found this thread and finally I made up my mind to chance it.

The cans were not damaged, with no bulging or leakage, and once opened the tomato looked and smelled good. The same as with the bottle. I cooked and ate this tomato without any consequences. Thanks to those who shared their experience in this thread.

 

[Burnedout]

Throwing away food because of an arbitrary date seems wasteful. We wouldn't If it looked and smelled fresh we'd use it.

 

[squirrel]

Here I was thinking the can was 4 years old! I would definitely toss it in that case, but now that I know the thread is old and it was just over a year old I would have opened it and done a smell & taste test.

I use things past expiry dates quite often.

 

[seashoreCM]

Open the can and pour out all of the contents as if for use normally. Rinse out the can. Inspect the inside of the can. If there are no rust spots then things are safe unless the food itself looks or smells bad.

 

[leahjade]

I always use sight and smell test! Only recently have cans had an expiration date on them so for decades that's how everyone decided what is safe to eat or not.

 

[carrie1626]

Was the can stamped EXP: xx/xx/xx

if there is simply a date stamped that is NOT an expiration date


but, I don't take chances with food. If you can't remember how long ago you bought it, I'd toss.