PowerSwitch

Hi,

Before the forum wipe someone asked about stocking up, how much to store, and how things last etc.

There's some good information/advice in a thread here on a new bird flu website.

Thanks murpen, it was myself who had inquired.

I am looking for a resource which will list various foodstuffs and the duration they can be kept, eg.

packet rice 5 years
tinned baked beans 3 years
dried milk 6 months

(not factual above, just examples)

Hi snow hope,

snow hope wrote: I am looking for a resource which will list various foodstuffs and the duration they can be kept, eg.

Doing some searches, this seems to be the answer for tinned food:

How long are the canned goods in my cupboard safe to eat?
As long as the seals are intact and the cans are not bulging, leaking or otherwise damaged, the food is considered safe to eat. The quality of the food, however, may decrease over time. For best quality, nutrition experts suggest we store canned food in a cool, dry place and use within two years of purchase. To keep track of storage time, label canned goods with the date of purchase. Place the "oldest" canned goods in the front of the cupboard, so they are used first.

I've also found Shelf Lives of Some Common Storage Foods which seems to be part of Misc.Survivalism's Food Storage Frequently Asked Questions.

When Technology Fails, by Matthew Stein, has a good guide to food storage. I'm sure he won't mind me summarising it:

Up to six months:most store-bought boxes of food; potatoes; granola

Up to twelve months: sealed dry breakfast cereal; natural vegetable oil; bottled fruit juices; most dried fruits; canned citrus fruits

Up to eighteen months: canned meats and seafood; whole nuts; dried yeast; cake mix; tea; jam/jelly; canned noncitrus fruit; pickles

Two to three years: corn starch; powdered gelatin; white flour; dried pasta; tapioca; peanut butter; most canned foods except for meats, fish and certain fruits; sprouting seeds

Up to five years: processed vegetable oils; cornmeal; cornflour; nonfat powdered milk

Five to ten years: most dried legumes and whole grains; dehydrated cheese; dried instant coffee; baking powder; powdered eggs

Indefinately: Honey; sugar; salt; soy sauce; black pepper; properly packaged wheat.

Note than all of these times are dependant on you storing them properly

Early last summer the UK government suggested that in the current climate of possible terrorism, that we should all hold some basic survival items at home, like three weeks worth of food. The BBC ran several features on this. A few days later the government was seen to be busy back peddling saying that it couldn?t foresee all eventualities, but that generally speaking stocking up might be a good idea.

In the power cuts of the 70s, you were unable to buy the simplest things like candles. Life has changed very much since then and so have people?s expectations. If we in Britain, were really faced with a crisis and people started panic buying, you would be unable to purchase much after a few hours in the supermarkets. In fact the government has said that it will base the army at food depots in a national crisis or long lasting fuel protest... so its best to think about it now etc

Tinned foods, have a long shelf life and can be eaten cold if necessary. As for nutrition it?s a balance between, the amount of calories and storage space. I did a bit of research on this and felt that it was better to buy, Proteins and Starch i.e. Tinned meats & fish, Tinned Potatoes, Rice and Pasta.

Long life > 4-5years (most tins stored in a cool place you can double the shelf life, making 8-10years)

Tinned meats and fish



Medium life > 18 months ? 3 years

Tinned veg, Tinned Soups, Rice, Pasta (again most of this can be stored past the best buy date)



Short life > 12 ? 18 months

Tinned fruit, Powdered Milk, Powdered Potatoes, Cereals, Flour, Bottled water

Space is at a premium and tinned vegetables and fruit are very low in calories and have a poor shelf life. If the average person needs between 2000 - 2500 calories a day, your food sources need to be able to supply this. You would be much better off taking multivitamins, than trying to accommodate all the fruit and veg that you would normally eat each day. I know this isn?t ideal and it isn?t good nutrition for every day life, but remember this is emergency food and calories are more important.

For the vegetarians amongst us, careful thought needs to go into the long life foods that you buy. Ideally food stocks that have a long life, need little reheating time and that do not need the use of a refrigerator to store them.

Powdered soups and pot noodles are out. Any packet foods, which are dehydrated normally don't last more than 9-18months, are highly processed and it means storing extra water to cook them with. Although having said that I bought powdered milk and potato, but you just have to be careful about rotating this stock.

The main thing is to buy food that you would like to eat and have at least tried out to see if it is nice.

Below is an example of what you might buy, you should add your own variations to this, remember that it?s a suggestion for one weeks supply only and is the bare minimum needed. Remember to increase your bottled water stock if you have grains that need to be cooked.

For cooking in a power or gas outage, remember to also buy a camping stove and some spare fuel.



SUGGESTED WEEKLY SUPPLY FOR 2 PEOPLE IN 2004


Water - around 24 litres

Breakfast cereal - 1 box

UHT milk - 3 x large tetra paks

Canned tuna x 6

Canned corn x 6

Canned meat (e.g. ham or corned beef) x 6

Canned chicken & mushroom pie x 6

Canned vegetables x 10

Canned potatoes x 6

Canned baked beans with sausages x 3

Canned fruit (e.g. pears, peaches) in juice x 9

Canned creamed rice or tapioca x 3

Custard 1 large tetra paks

Chocolate bars x 1 large

Dried apricots x 2 bags



Source: British Nutrition Foundation

Also buy items that would make your life more comfortable, if some items become unavailable or expensive, through shortages etc

a) Rechargeable camping lanterns and a couple of touches- so that you have light in power cuts. I notice that solar powered versions of the above are available on Ebay.

b) Spare batteries for radios ? possibly rechargeable batteries and chargers.

c) Extra medicine that you or your family might need.

d) Extra warm clothing and clothing that you might miss if they become unavailable.

e) Wind up radio or small portable battery radio if you do not own one.

f) Camping stove and spare fuel to cook with.

g) Extra toiletries and soaps.

h) A bicycle ? I think everyone in the country should own one and they are relatively cheap today, this may not last.

Also, you may find it useful to keep some cash in the house, say ?50 or ?100

Great information - thanks all.