Pantry Rotation Made Simple

The best emergency food is food you eat anyway. Rotation means you always use the oldest first and replace it.

A routine that works

1. Write the purchase date on each item with a marker, in large numbers.
2. Put new food at the back and older food at the front.
3. Look through the pantry every few weeks, as USDA suggests, and eat what is getting old.
4. Do a full check once a year. Canada.ca and Ready.gov both suggest a yearly review.
5. Replace what you eat on your next shop.

How long shelf-stable food keeps

Stored in a cool, dry place, ideally below 85°F (29°C). Temperatures above 100°F (38°C) harm canned goods.

Food	Time (USDA FSIS)
Low-acid cans: meat, poultry, stews, soups except tomato, beans, corn, peas, spinach	2 to 5 years
High-acid cans: tomatoes, most fruits, juice, pickles, sauerkraut	12 to 18 months
Shelf-stable canned ham	2 to 5 years
Tuna and seafood in pouches	18 months
Home-canned food	12 months

MREs depend heavily on temperature: 7 years at 60°F (16°C), 4½ years at 70°F (21°C), 4 years at 80°F (27°C), 2½ years at 90°F (32°C), 1½ years at 100°F (38°C), and 1 month at 120°F (49°C).

A USDA pantry article words the can timing as “beyond their listed dates”, while the FSIS table does not. To be safe, treat the FSIS figures as total storage time from purchase, unless the can says otherwise.

What dates mean

• US: FDA says quality-based date labels are not required by federal law, except for infant formula. “Best if Used By” is about quality.
• Canada: the CFIA says a best-before date is about freshness and quality, and “is not an indicator of food safety”. Foods with a shelf life over 90 days do not have to carry one.
• Infant formula in both countries: follow the date on the package.

Cans to throw out

Throw out cans that are bulging, leaking, or heavily rusted, cans with a deep dent you can press a finger into, especially on a seam, and any can that froze and swelled. Do not taste questionable food.