Five Different Shelf Life Studies: Two on Canned Food and Three on Dry Food

Source

Summary Article © Copyright 2007,2010 by Robert Wayne Atkins, P.E.

The following brief summaries are for fair use and educational purposes only.

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Publication History:

After granting permission, my Entire Food Shelf Life Summary Article was published in the

Journal of Civil Defense, Volume 43, Issue Number 2, Year 2010.

The Journal of Civil Defense has an extremely wide distribution and readership including

all the Congressmen in the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives.

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Canned Food Study One

A Food and Drug Administration Article about a shelf life test that was conducted on 100-year old canned foods that were retrieved from the Steamboat Bertrand can be read at the following link:

http://web.archive.org/web/20070509153848/http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/CONSUMER/CON00043.html

Following is a brief summary of a very small portion of the above article:

"Among the canned food items retrieved from the Bertrand in 1968 were brandied peaches, oysters, plum tomatoes, honey, and mixed vegetables. In 1974, chemists at the National Food Processors Association (NFPA) analyzed the products for bacterial contamination and nutrient value. Although the food had lost its fresh smell and appearance, the NFPA chemists detected no microbial growth and determined that the foods were as safe to eat as they had been when canned more than 100 years earlier. The nutrient values varied depending upon the product and nutrient. NFPA chemists Janet Dudek and Edgar Elkins report that significant amounts of vitamins C and A were lost. But protein levels remained high, and all calcium values 'were comparable to today's products.'"

"NFPA chemists also analyzed a 40-year-old can of corn found in the basement of a home in California. Again, the canning process had kept the corn safe from contaminants and from much nutrient loss. In addition, Dudek says, the kernels looked and smelled like recently canned corn."

"According to a recent study cosponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and NFPA, canned foods provide the same nutritional value as fresh grocery produce and their frozen counterparts when prepared for the table. NFPA researchers compared six vegetables in three forms: home-cooked fresh, warmed canned, and prepared frozen. 'Levels of 13 minerals, eight vitamins, and fiber in the foods were similar,' says Dudek. In fact, in some cases the canned product contained high levels of some vitamins that in fresh produce are destroyed by light or exposure to air."

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Canned Food Study Two

A canned food shelf life study conducted by the U.S. Army revealed that canned meats, vegetables, and jam were in an excellent state of preservation after 46 years.

The Washington State University summary article can be read at:

http://www.whatcom.wsu.edu/family/facts/shelflif.htm

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Dry Food Study One

A scientific study conducted at Brigham Young University on the shelf life of a variety of different dry foods can be read at both of the following links:

http://ce.byu.edu/cw/womensconference/archive/2005/sharing_stations/pdf/52a.pdf
http://www.providentliving.org/content/display/0,11666,7797-1-4222-1,00.html

A brief summary of the above web site information shows the following estimated shelf life per dry food item:

Over 30 years for wheat and white rice.
30 years for pinto beans, macaroni, rolled oats, and potato flakes.
20 years for powdered milk.

All dry food items should be stored in airtight moisture proof containers at a temperature between 40ºF to 70°F.
Salt, baking soda, and granulated sugar still in their original containers have no known shelf life limit if properly stored.

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Dry Food Study Two

http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2007/0208-keeping_food_for_years.htm

Following are some direct quotes taken from the above web site:

Food scientists now know that, when properly sealed, some dried food that's been sitting on shelves for years, could still be OK to eat.

"It lasts a lot longer than we thought," Oscar Pike a food scientist at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, tells DBIS.

Scientists have known certain foods like sugar and salt can be stored indefinitely, but wanted to learn the shelf life of other food like dried apples -- stored since 1973 -- tried by taste testers.

"I like to call it the emergency shelf life of the food, food that you'd still be willing to eat in an emergency," Pike says. "It's not as though it were freshly canned, but it's certainly edible."

He says the best foods to store are low in moisture, like wheat and powered milk. But keep all foods away from heat and light to stop it from going stale and losing nutritional value. "All the foods that we've tested have been stored at room temperature or below, so you want to avoid attic and garage storage."

In the study, researchers taste-tested rolled oats that had been stored in sealed containers for 28 years. Three-fourths of tasters considered the oats acceptable to eat in an emergency.

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Dry Food Study Three

http://beprepared.com/article.asp?ai=579&sid=INEM327&EID=ALL0608d&lm=emer&bhcd2=1213479534

Following are some quotes taken from the above web site:

It is important to first identify what is meant by "food storage" and "shelf life." "Food storage" that is intended to be held long-term is generally considered to be low moisture food packed in either #10 cans or in metalized bags placed within large buckets. "Shelf life" can be defined in the following two ways:

"Best if used by" shelf life - Length of time food retains most of its original taste and nutrition.

"Life sustaining" shelf life - Length of time food preserves life, without becoming inedible.

There can be a wide time gap between these two definitions. For example, most foods available in the grocery store that are dated have a "Best if used by" date that ranges from a few weeks to a few years. On the other hand, scientific studies have determined that when properly stored, powdered milk has a "Life sustaining" shelf life of 20 years. That is, the stored powdered milk may not taste as good as fresh powdered milk, but it is still edible.

Shelf life is extremely dependent on the following storage conditions:

Temperature: Excessive temperature is damaging to food storage. With increased temperature, proteins breakdown and some vitamins will be destroyed. The color, flavor and odor of some products may also be affected. To enhance shelf life, store food at room temperature or below; never store food in an attic or garage.
Moisture: Excessive moisture can result in product deterioration and spoilage by creating an environment in which microorganisms may grow and chemical reactions can take place.
Oxygen: The oxygen in air can have deteriorative effects on fats, food colors, vitamins, flavors, and other food constituents. It can cause conditions that will enhance the growth of microorganisms.
Light: The exposure of foods to light can result in the deterioration of specific food constituents, such as fats, proteins, and vitamins, resulting in discoloration, off-flavors, and vitamin loss.

EXAMPLES OF SHELF LIFE:

Recent scientific studies on dehydrated food have shown that food stored properly can last for a much longer period of time than previously thought. This research determined the "life sustaining" shelf life to be the following:

Dry Food Item	Shelf Life
Wheat, White Rice, and Corn	30 years or more
Pinto Beans, Apple Slices, Macaroni	30 years
Rolled Oats, and Potato Flakes	30 years
Powdered Milk	20 years

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Revision History:

Revised September 1, 2010 - Added Publication History of my Summary Article at the top of the page.

Revised June 16, 2008 - Added a Third Dry Food Shelf Life Article.

Revised June 12, 2008 - Added a Second Dry Food Shelf Life Article.

Revised December 4, 2007 - Added a New Link to a U.S. Army Canned Food Shelf Life Article.

Revised December 4, 2007 - Added a New Link to a Brigham Young University Dry Food Shelf Life Article.

Fall 2007 - Created this new web page.

Click on www.grandpappy.info/indexhar.htm for more Hard Times Survival Tips.

Click on www.grandpappy.info for Robert's Home Page.

Empty Store Shelves Coming to America

Why Your Grocery Bill Will Double In 2011 And What You Can Do About It

A Legal Manual for an Apocalyptic New York

Source

Ruth Fremson/The New York Times

Justice Barry Kamins said New York City’s courts had already been through a lot, including the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.

By WILLIAM GLABERSON

Published: February 14, 2011

Major disasters like terrorist attacks and mass epidemics raise confounding issues for rescuers, doctors and government officials. They also pose bewildering legal questions, including some that may be painful to consider, like how the courts would decide who gets life-saving medicine if there are more victims than supplies.

Related

• Excerpts From New York’s Doomsday Legal Manual(February 15, 2011)

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Ruth Fremson/The New York Times

Ronald P. Younkins, the state court system’s chief of operations, said the new manual’s preparation was similar to other steps the New York courts had taken to plan for emergencies.

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Ruth Fremson/The New York Times

The manual.

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But courts, like fire departments and homicide detectives, exist in part for gruesome what-ifs. So this month, an official state legal manual was published in New York to serve as a guide for judges and lawyers who could face grim questions in another terrorist attack, a major radiological or chemical contamination or a widespread epidemic.

Quarantines. The closing of businesses. Mass evacuations. Warrantless searches of homes. The slaughter of infected animals and the seizing of property. When laws can be suspended and whether infectious people can be isolated against their will or subjected to mandatory treatment. It is all there, in dry legalese, in the manual, published by the state court system and the state bar association.

The most startling legal realities are handled with lawyerly understatement. It notes that the government has broad power to declare a state of emergency. “Once having done so,” it continues, “local authorities may establish curfews, quarantine wide areas, close businesses, restrict public assemblies and, under certain circumstances, suspend local ordinances.”

Ronald P. Younkins, the chief of operations for the state court system, said the book’s preparation was similar to other steps the New York courts had taken to plan for emergencies, including stockpiling respirators and latex gloves. Like such manuals in other states, Mr. Younkins said, it is intended to give judges and lawyers a place to turn in an emergency because the maze of state and federal laws — some decades or centuries old — can be difficult to decipher. For judges, the manual may well be their only refresher on the case of Mary Mallon, “Typhoid Mary,” who was isolated on an East River island from 1915 until her death in 1938.

“It is a very grim read,” Mr. Younkins said. “This is for potentially very grim situations in which difficult decisions have to be made.”

Published with the disarmingly bland title “New York State Public Health Legal Manual,” the doomsday book does not proclaim new law but, rather, describes existing law and gives lawyers and judges ways of analyzing any number of frightening situations.

The manual provides a catalog of potential terrorism nightmares, like smallpox, anthrax or botulism episodes. It notes that courts have recognized far more rights over the past century or so than existed at the time of Typhoid Mary’s troubles. It details procedures for assuring that people affected by emergency rules get hearings and lawyers. It mentions that in the event of an attack, officials can control traffic, communications and utilities. If they expect an attack, it says, they can compel mass evacuations.

But the guide also presents a sober rendition of what the realities might be in dire times. The suspension of laws, it says, is subject to constitutional rights. But then it adds, “This should not prove to be an obstacle, because federal and state constitutional restraints permit expeditious actions in emergency situations.”

When there is not enough medicine for everyone in an emergency, it notes, there is no clear legal guidepost. It suggests legal decisions would most likely involve an analysis that “balances the obligation to save the greatest number of lives against the obligation to care for each single patient,” perhaps giving preference to those with the best chance to survive. It points out, though, that elderly and disabled people might have a legal claim if they are discriminated against at such moments of crisis.

Donna Lieberman, the executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said the 88-page book reminded her of the CliffsNotes pamphlets that have helped generations of 11th graders get through Macbeth. “Needless to say, this makes me a little nervous,” she said, adding that the legal issues the book raised were “nuanced, thorny and difficult, and hard to capture in CliffsNotes.”

In separate forewords, the state’s chief judge, Jonathan Lippman, and the bar association’s president, Stephen P. Younger, say public-health threats are more apparent than ever, so the legal questions ought to be considered now, not during an emergency.

If nothing else, the book is intensely practical, giving lawyers and judges a way to get through what would quite likely be chaotic days.

After mentioning that houses or businesses can be commandeered to shelter victims or serve as medical dispensaries, it continues that “violations of individual property rights, if actionable, would generally be sorted out after the need for such actions has ended.” The court system posted an electronic copy of the book on its Web site on Thursday, and the bar association is selling bound copies for $18 to the public. The book was edited by Michael Colodner, the former counsel to the state’s Office of Court Administration.

In its matter-of-fact way, it conjures an image of the courts muddling through in an apocalyptic city. But it makes clear that it is in just such circumstances that it may be more important than ever for the courts to remain open to grapple with the legal questions created by the emergency itself.

Without mentioning that judges and other court officials themselves may be among the dead or injured, the manual says that when there is a shortage of court personnel, administrators can take any number of steps to keep the courts operating. It says they can hold multiple proceedings before a single judge, change rules of procedure and give priority to cases arising out of the emergency.

And it provides chilling instructions on how to proceed with cases in the midst of outbreaks of contagious disease. The stockpiled gloves and respirators “already available at many courthouses,” it says, may be necessary.

But the image of an infected New Yorker surrounded by a masked judge, lawyers and court officers was a miserable one even for this gruesome guide. “The wearing of respirators by the multiple participants in a courtroom setting, would no doubt be disruptive,” the manual notes. One alternative, it suggests, is that the infected person be required to wear a respirator. Another: “Isolating an infectious litigant in a separate room with an audio-visual connection to the courtroom.”

In Brooklyn one day last week, the administrative judge of the criminal courts, Barry Kamins, listened as parts of the manual were read to him, including the section about everyone wearing masks in the courtroom. “I’m trying to imagine several people in a courtroom wearing that,” Justice Kamins said. “It’s hard to put yourself in that situation.”

But, he said, the city’s courts have already been through a lot, including the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. Swine flu brought respirators to some courtrooms, as people worried about infection. Defendants who bite and scratch sometimes arrive in court in chains and are forced to wear gloves.

“It’s almost surreal, but you just go forward,” Justice Kamins said, which is how he said judges would most likely respond if the scene in the courts was even more surreal.

A version of this article appeared in print on February 15, 2011, on page A1 of the New York edition.