Is a 20 Year Shelf Life Possible for Dry Food?

Could dry food be stored and eaten past 10 years?

Depends on the food IMO. Sugar or salt, yes as long as it's kept dry. Flour, no. What are you thinking of?

Emergency food supplies

Emergency food supplies

Dear Jay,

To my surprise, Google has a wealth of info. on this topic, particularly oriented to you-know-where . One supplier of (claimed) 10yr ++ is here - http://www.amazon.co.../dp/B004S7SUDK.
The amazing thing to me was that none of the customer reviews queried the validity of the shelf life.

Some techniques for (apparently) ensuring such long shelf-lives and potential pitfalls are described in detail here –

http://ehpalert.com/...-food-supplies/
http://www.baproducts.com/food.htm
http://www.readyrese...ing/shelf-life/

Rgds / Charles.C

The shelf life of a product must be decided by the food manufacturer. Of course it cannot be chosen at random, but on the basis of specific rules. E.g. the possibility of pathogen's growth, the organoleptic properties, customer requirements and so on. All must be documented and registered.
A good guide on the determination of the shelf life by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland can be found here: FSAI Shelf life

mauro

Here in the US sugar industry, two years is the usual shelf life stated on HACCP plans for dry, white sugar. It will last a LOT longer than than, if kept dry, because I found a sample tucked away in a drawer of an old desk recently that had to be 10 years old +, but still looked, smelled, and tasted like sugar! I am sure it is the same for salt.

Here in the US sugar industry, two years is the usual shelf life stated on HACCP plans for dry, white sugar. It will last a LOT longer than than, if kept dry, because I found a sample tucked away in a drawer of an old desk recently that had to be 10 years old +, but still looked, smelled, and tasted like sugar! I am sure it is the same for salt.

It is possible in the EU to have no shelf life for certain items.

I guess whisky is pretty drinkable after 20 years!