I have been going through stored food and have doubts about shelf life of food. I have canned chicken that is 15 years old (GRABILL COUNTRY) canned boneless chicken already cooked with no experation date. and 12 grain cereal that is vacuum packed, 20 years old. Yes, I am guilty of not rotating and using stored food. All of this was kept in a closet with decent temperatures. The chicken makes me wonder, the cereal seems like it should be okay. I've eaten really old c-rations but what do you think?
Look for rust, bulging, obvious holes or deformation. If the cans seem properly intact and sealed you should be fine. Opening the cans if you hear a hiss sound is a dead giveaway something is wrong along with a foul odor. I would suspect the food has lost much of it's taste and some nutritional value from sitting for so long. Might work better in stews or other foods that are mixed with lots of flavor.
