The average American family of four throws aside more than 120 pounds offoodevery month [ germ : CBS ] . That ’s a lot of permissive waste , especially in ruffianly economic times . Instead of toss away out all those dusty old cans and boxes , open them up and make them part of your next meal . Depending on how it ’s stored , terminate and boxed food can last a foresighted clip . But which lasts longer ?
boxed-in variety
The answer really bet on what form of boxed in food you ’re babble about . Today , boxed food embrace a number of different preservation technique , let in airtight bags ( think cereal ) , vacuum cleaner - sealed dish ( like the ones lunch meats and bacon come in ) , frigid containers ( TV dinners , for instance ) or dried goods ( such as a boxful of pasta ) . Regardless of how it ’s packaged , frozen food can keep for months or old age – sometimes even for X . In one utmost case in the former nineteenth century , William Buckland , a professor at Oxford University , served his dinner guest meat from an extinctmammoththat had been frozen for more than 10,000 days [ generator : Shepard ] .
No matter how they ’re preserved , many boxed goods contain chemicals that inhibit or defeat bacterium . ( bacterium are what makes intellectual nourishment perishable to begin with . ) Sorbic window pane , sodium nitrite and sulphur dioxide all lengthen a product ’s sell - by date , but they can also decrease a food ’s nutritional time value .
Sterile Cans
transcribed food is n’t laden with chemicals and preservatives because all the bacteria are killed during the canning outgrowth . This process permit sealed cans to continue fresh for year . Although most canned nutrient have no expiration date , it ’s not recommended to keep them longer than two year . However , the absolute majority of canned solid food are still eatable long after that flow , but their discernment , color and grain may alter slightly [ germ : Canned Food Alliance ] .
That ’s not to say that all canned solid food is chemical - free . While many make of canned meats and vegetable have little to no preservatives , other popular canned goods are rife with chemical preservatives . In fact , the chemical bisphenol - A ( BPA ) , is frequently tote up to the liners of canned foods , such as poulet soup , ravioli and many brands of child pattern . There ’s some grounds that might link BPA tocancer , depress spermatozoan enumeration , miscarriagesand birthing defects [ root : Natural News ] . In March 2009 , the U.S. House of Representatives herald legislation aimed at outlawing BPA in product consumed by infant and children [ source : JSOnline ]
Proper Storage
It may be a flip - up as to which keeps longer – terminate or box solid food – but both form of goods have an lengthened ledge life when they ’re decently taken care of . They should be stored in a cool , dry shoes , such as a pantry or cupboard . Bagged boxed goods , such as food grain , can be resealed in airtight containers to prolong freshness after their initial scuttle . The mixture of air and metal may adversely affect foods ' flavor , so any leftover canned trade good should be removed from their original container andrefrigeratedafter opening .
