I just checked on some stuff I had stored way back in 2005, some of it was supposed to be rotated out at 4 years but some didn’t have a hard use by date. I haven’t gotten to opening some individual containers and checking, just visuals and observations. So far one negative result and the rest positive, but this is all new to me. Keep in mind this was a pack and forget, and I suspect most people are going to be lax on checking up on the cache. Here’s the summary:

Gasoline

Win. This was the big surprise, put 10 gallons in my truck and it ran fine. No discernible difference between that and pump gas. Usually stale gas gets dark yellow, and reeks like old paint. This was a little yellower than fresh, but smelled the same. The trick was to store it in plastic, and keep it cool. I figured it would be dead, but no.

Canned goods aka No Soup For You

Fail. Canned soup rusted from the inside out, and weeped on all the other cans, rusting them too. It was either the tomato or the chicken noodle, I guess the salt or acid affected the can coating. Based on that, I recommend no canned soup or any canned goods with liquids go into the supply. Canned vegetable and soups are all readily available as dry mixes or dehydrated, there’s really no point in cans. Jars probably have the same problem due to the metal lids. I might make exceptions for canned meats, but I am not sure about the specifics. You’ll have to wait another 5 years for that….

Dry goods

Win. Everything looked great, zero issues on inspection. No mold/weevils/splotching/rusty cans etc. The sugar was still granular, no caking (fully expected a solid concrete like mass in the bag).

Vegetable oil

Win, to my eye. Still nice and clear, have yet to crack one open and sniff. I may try to send a sample to a lab if it’s not too spendy. Supposedly when ooil goes bad it gets rancid and smelly, and tastes like shit. No way I will actually eat it.

Peanut butter

Win, conditional. Same as the oil, looked fabulous. Will sniff and then send for a test.

Storage conditions

My storage area is cool, but not really that dry. I put everything in big storage bins, then used big ziplocks inside that for most things. I have some cans that were boxed, those got bagged and taped but I think I need a better seal. I recommend ziplocking EVERYTHING, and tossing in a dessicant packet. That way you know for sure it’s sealed.