Know the foods with the longest Shelf life. Always shop groceries online from a reliable and trustworthy supermarket. The shelf life of food we eat purely depends upon the condition it is stored and also depends upon its natural shelf life. For example, most of the food remains fresh for long hours during the winter season while for the same food the spoilage time is comparatively shorter during hot summer.
Declutter old foods from refrigerator and Kitchen cupboard.
Often people who take care of the kitchen or cook food at home might have experienced this. When you reach out to a certain food item in the cupboard or fridge and realize it is expired!
Expiry date represents the date of the food item it is packed and how long the food can be served as a healthy nutritious food without any ill side effects.
The expiry date as mentioned in the packed food will be applicable only when the food is stored as recommended in the package label. If not the food stored in a damp or dry environment (when it is kept directly exposed to the sunlight) will turn out to spoil before the aforesaid export date.
In comparison to wet foods like fruits and vegetables, most the dried foods like rice, pulses, spices and salt will last for long years.
Dried, canned or Preserved food will have long shelf life than high oil or moisture content foods that spoil quickly than you would think.
Let’s explore few basic foods with a long self-life,
1. Foods that Last long forever:
a) Salt
b) Soya Sauce
c) Sugar
d) Vinegar
e) Vanilla Essence or extract
f) Cooking oil
g) Corn starch
h) Honey
i) Wine
j) Dried Beans and legumes lentils
k) Butter
Well Processed food, neatly packed foods last long forever.
2. Foods that last long for more than 10 years:
a) Grounded Coffee/ instant coffee powder
b) Milk Powder
c) Well Dried Rice
3. Foods with shelf life between 5-10 Years:
a) Millets and Grains like Barley, Horse gram etc.
b) Dried up fruits and Vegetables
c) Oats
d) Rice Flour
e) Vermicelli, Pasta, nodells etc.
4. Foods with Shelf life between 3-5 Years:
a) Pickles
b) Whole Spices and Herbs.
c) Canned beverages and foods
d) Peanut Butter
5. Foods with Shelf life between 1-3 years:
a) Jams and Jellies
b) Tomato Sauce
c) Packed Tea Dust
d) Oils
e) Oats
f) Dark Chocolate
6. Foods with less than 1 year:
a) Dried Fruits – Raisins, Dry Dates, Cranberries, etc
b) Dried Nuts – Badam, Cashew, Pista, walnut etc.
c) Green leaves, Fruits and Vegetables.
Understanding the natural shelf life of the food helps to manage your food resource during power failures due to cyclone or any other natural calamity or when you live off-grid in remote areas or rural villages.
We need to be really concerned about the shelf-life of the food. Why because, accidentally consuming the spoiled food may cause food poisoning, dysentery or even lead to serious health hazards.
1. Some foods may lose their nutritional value when kept overtime in an unconditioned environment.
2. In another case, spoilage of food happens due to the growth of dangerous microbial bacteria and fungal.
The shelf life of any food depends on the way it is processed, packed and stored.
1. Food Processing:
The way the food is processed determines the shelf life of the food. This includes,
a)Dehydrating
b)Freeze-drying
c)Pasteurization
d)Heat processing
e) curing
f) Pickling.
All the above process extend the shelf life of food to remain edible.
2. Food Packaging:
Along with Processing, the way the processed food is packed is also very important to retain the shelf life of food.
a) Food that is sealed in the Metal Tin will remain a long time.
b) Plastic Bottles or sachet
The long term packaging involves proper airtight packing, that retains the oxygen and moisture unescapable from the container.
3. Food Storage:
Improper food Storage directly affects the shelf life period of the item. As you all know, the food remains unspoiled for longer hours during monsoon and the winter season. This is because the cooler the temperature increases the shelf life of the food. If not, keep it dry to avoid moisture accumulation which paves the way for microbial activities, rust metal containers or may also sprout seeds.
Note: Avoid Freezing and Direct sunlight which increases the temperature.
Conclusion:
It is essential to rotate the stock of foods you store. Buy and Eat farm-fresh Fruits and vegetables, stapes, sprouts and canned foods from the reliable online supermarket nearby, which practices all the above-storing conditions.
If you want to shop grocery online in the bulk quantity, with a clear shelf life expiry date then you should certainly consider Ansio Fresh – The popular online Grocery Store in Chennai near you.