Dropped box of cans, are they good?

About a year ago I had a box of cans I moved into a basement and dropped it, I was in a hurry and didn't check them so I put them in their storage spot and recently checked the box and noticed a few of the cans had dents and a few pop tops had broke and food oozed out. Most of the cans looked fine and did not show any signs of damage or broken seals.

Is there anything other than a visual I can do to test them or test when I open them to make sure they are safe to eat?

 

As long as the can is not distorted or dented, I think they would be fine. I say give it the smell test and should be fine. One last thing. The cans that were oozing, were they oozing onto other cans? I would wash the cans that you plan on keeping to make sure they are not leaking.

 

When a can goes bad it will swell if it's still airtight. If it has even a tiny puncture the pressure will be released and the can will look normal.

Bad food will usually--but not always--smell bad. Low-sulfur foods can be sneaky at times. A major clue to bad is if part of the food is a different color or consistency when it comes out the can.

A suspect can that looks good should be emptied out, rinsed and inspected on the inside before the food is eaten. Even the tiniest puncture will usually be obvious from the inside.

If the can doesn't look perfect on the inside, toss the food without a second thought,

The average can of food is worth about $0.65--think of it as the price you would happily pay not to throw up even once. And a real bargain if you don't have to heave your guts out for several hours straight.

A word to the wise about food poisoning: People die from it.

Usually a person with "a little" touch of food poisoning will NOT want an ambulance called or a fast transport to the Emergency Room.

That's the herd instinct at work. As long as a person can pretend they're ok--to themselves, as well as bystanders--the herd won't walk off and leave them for the wolves to eat.

Here's the acid test for food poisoning: The instant they have to lie down they should be taken straight to the hospital. Whether they like the idea or not.

When they have to lie down "to be ok" they're in collapse. From that point they may live, or they may not. They may heave themselves into unconsciousness, and recover. Or they may heave themselves into unconsciousness and then die if they have not gotten rid of enough of the toxicity.

The Famous Last Words for food poisoning are "I'll be ok. I just need to lie down for a while."

At that point it's a coin toss without medical intervention.

Note: I've seen people with bone showing that didn't want an ambulance. That's a combination of shock and the herd instinct. If you can stay on your feet long enough to walk away from the pool of blood, the herd won't kick you out and the wolves won't eat you. Just mix in with everybody else, dude, and you'll be ok if you don't die.

A little later, after the shock wears off, or as soon as the pain really hits, the second part of the herd instinct kicks in: Let somebody else lick the wound to make it heal.

In modern times that translates to "Call the doctor!"

 

I got food poisoning years ago when I was on an extended road trip. It was some bad breakfast sausage at a Howard Johnson's restaurant in Roanoke. Thought it tasted strange when I ate it, but was in a hurry and wanted to get going.

A few hours later, vomiting, head ringing, headache, fever, tried eating lunch and that got tossed too. Checked into a motel and spent the next 24 hours or so between the bed and toilet, delirious and thoroughly being cleansed from both ends. That was followed up with dry heaves for good measure.

By the next day I was quite pale, dehydrated and weak, but it was over. By rights I should have headed to a clinic or hospital. I was about 20 years old and otherwise strong as well as strong headed. Can't imagine what it would've done at my present age. It was a pretty horrible experience, such that one does not want to repeat it.

As Uncle Morgan says, for the cost of a can of food, taking a chance on that level of illness simply isn't worth it. Imagine this scenario in SHTF when not-so friendlies may be waiting to take you down in any way possible so they can run off with the rest of your stores. They'll get the stuff that's still good.

 

Since no one else has said it, I will. No surprise there. A lesson was learned here by all, including you. Granted in the survival basis rank of things, clean water #1, shelter from extreme heat or cold #2, and food to fuel the body and to keep your mind sharp #3. Anyone who has a similar accident should; examine all the cans for obvious damage asap. Waiting a year was a NO NO! Short note here, pop top peal back can lids are MORE susceptible to damage than regular cans. Any dented can should be moved up on the USE FIRST list. No harm no foul this time, but you could have been depending on that for much needed nutrition to sustain life. Count your blessings. jmho

 

Thanks for the tips and advice. I agree, it was stupid to wait (forget) a year, the good thing though is it was just one small box with about 15 cans or so in it so a pretty small amount overall.

Food poisoning is serious business that is for sure. I have had a bad case once and thinking back I should have gone to the hospital. I didn't throw up but I had the colon cleaning of my life for almost a week and felt like death for about three days, I have never felt that sick in my life, the worst point was I got up to go to the bathroom and passed out over the toilet and by some miracle ended up with the toilet seat down and my head resting on the top instead of in the toilet, LOL. Funny to think about but it was really bad, I think I came to pretty quick and felt very disoriented and had a hard time getting up and walking to the kitchen 15 feet away, I sat down and drank about 20 oz of gator aid and rested for a while and then went to bed. Really bad choice, I should have immediately gone to the ER looking back. God is merciful.

 

Well the ones that have oozed are not people food. basically we use food for the ducks and chickens for the food that we wouldn't eat, but they turned up their beaks at re-fried beans, go figure...

Rancher

 

If some of the cans just are dented but show no other signs of damage, they should be okay. We've eaten food from dented cans before, no worse for the wear. If you're still worried, you can boil the food to deal with any possible pathogens.

 

Boiling 10 minutes will kill the toxin, but not the spores (pressure canning will kill the spores). Except for infants, we can consume spores will no ills, but infant digestive tracts are not acidic enough and the spores then multiply and become toxic. Something to consider if there are short ones among your group.