How to extend the life of almost any grocery item, according to food safety experts
With new tariffs in effect and likely more on the horizon, it's only natural to think about how to save money as prices increase. One way? Extending the life of our groceries to cut costs, not to mention waste. After all, how many of us have tossed expired jars of mayo or fuzz-coated jam (ew) we discovered in the back of the fridge? Even as someone who used to bake for a living, I'm guilty of committing some of these crimes over the years — but I've also picked up some tricks for keeping food edible, longer.
In the interest of creating a more comprehensive food-storage guide, I sought the input of two food safety experts: Dr. Amanda Deering, Associate Professor of Fresh Produce Food Safety at Purdue University's Department of Food Science, and Dr. Ellen Shumaker, Director of Outreach for the Safe Plates program at NC State University.
Related: How long can your pasta salad stay out? Here's what food safety experts say
Because different foods spoil at different rates, I asked them which types we should be most cautious about. "Any foods that require refrigeration will be the ones that spoil more quickly than others," says Deering. "Foods that spoil quickly are milk, raw meat and poultry and cut produce," echoes Shumaker. "These foods all provide high amounts of nutrients for spoilage organisms, have a high amount of available water for these organisms to thrive and are a more neutral pH. (Microorganisms don't grow very well in more acidic or more basic environments.)" So while the bag of pretzels in your cupboard can certainly go stale over time, chilled foods have the shortest lifespans.
"Spoilage primarily happens due to the growth of microorganisms that produce off flavors, smells or changes to the texture," says Shumaker. "The growth of these microorganisms depends on a few factors, including various properties of a food product and the time/temperature that the food is kept at." With that in mind, here are some methods to help preserve refrigerated, frozen and pantry items (as well as your hard-earned cash).
"An important part of the temperature conversation is that it is really a time/temperature relationship," says Shumaker. "Even at or below 41°F, spoilage bacteria and some types of bacteria that can cause illness, like Listeria, can still grow (just more slowly). For that reason, I recommend keeping leftover prepared foods (like cooked vegetables, cooked meat dishes, cooked pasta or casseroles) for no longer than seven days for food safety."
"Fresh produce has a pretty short shelf life," says Deering. "Berries are especially susceptible to spoilage. It's important to not wash the berries until right before you are going to eat them. Adding water allows the spoilage microorganisms to grow and will accelerate spoilage. I would get berries as cool as possible, as quickly as possible, and then wash right before you eat them. Some things, like tomatoes, people say not to store in the fridge because it changes the texture, and that could be true. However, if you want to reduce spoilage, it is still good to get them into the refrigerator."
"I recommend using a 'First In, First Out' approach in your kitchen," says Shumaker. "Move older foods to the front of your fridge and pantry to make sure you're using the oldest food first while it is still fresh and ultimately avoid wasting it. It's also helpful to keep track of what you already have before buying new foods to make sure you're consuming food within its shelf life."
Isn't it annoying that most recipes only call for a few tablespoons of chopped herbs, but you can only purchase them in large bunches? Rather than letting them wilt away, you can keep them fresh for weeks if stored properly.
Just the thought of accidentally sipping sour milk is enough to make my stomach churn; unfortunately, dairy products are among the foods that go rancid the quickest. The good news? Milk can be frozen, and this is my little trick for portioning it out.
"It's important to maintain a refrigerator temperature at 41°F or below to maximize the shelf life of your food — the lower temperature slows the growth of these spoilage microorganisms," says Shumaker. "This will also help slow the growth of potentially harmful bacteria that can cause foodborne illness, which are different from spoilage microorganisms. If your fridge is kept above 41°, foods may spoil more quickly. You can confirm the temperature of your fridge by using a fridge thermometer."
What would we do without shelf-stable foods? They're lifesavers when your fridge goes kaput, and you generally don't have to babysit them to ensure they don't go bad. That said, even if they can last a while from a safety perspective, taste and texture can be compromised over time. (Note: Canned goods can stay good for years as long as the can is in good shape.)
Psst: Did you know flour mites are a thing? I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but, yes, these teeny-tiny pests exist. They can be found in just about any type of dried pantry staple like flour, oats, grains and spices, but transferring these foods from their original packaging to airtight containers can help prevent mites. (If they do show up, they are difficult to get rid of unless you toss out all of your dry ingredients — not fun or cost-effective!)
Want your food to last a really long time? "Keeping foods as cool as possible, as quickly as possible, is the best," says Deering. Shumaker adds, "You can consider freezing foods to extend the shelf life." According to the USDA, "Food stored constantly at 0°F will always be safe. Only the quality suffers with lengthy freezer storage." This means that, technically, the ground beef in your freezer could be safe to eat for years as long as the appliance keeps functioning as it should — but you'll want to take steps to prevent freezer burn so it retains its flavor and texture.
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Our health content is for informational purposes only and is not intended as professional medical advice. Consult a medical professional on questions about your health.
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14 Of The Biggest Canned Food Recalls In History
Modern life comes with a seemingly infinite number of things you need to keep track of, but there's one very important thing that you shouldn't overlook: Food recalls. They happen a lot, and in some cases, finding out about one could be potentially life-saving. Recalls are issued for reasons ranging from unlabeled allergens and mislabeled products, to potential contamination with the kind of microorganisms that can cause serious illnesses. It's not something that's gone away over time, either. In 2024, Boar's Head was at the center of one of the largest deli meat recalls ever, ending with 71 different products recalled for potential listeria contamination. At least ten people died, dozens were hospitalized, and seven million pounds of meat were deemed suspect. That seems almost unthinkable, but even canned foods haven't been exempt from massive recalls. Canned food has a reputation as being shelf-stable and long-lasting, and there are a number of canned foods that are perfect or keeping your pantry stocked. But, here's the thing: Canned goods can definitely be recalled, and we'd even argue that these recalls are easy to miss. You might not remember you have a compromised product in your pantry at the time, so let's talk about some of the biggest canned food recalls in history, and put it into perspective on why you should keep an eye out for announcements that might impact you. Read more: The 15 Absolute Best Canned Foods To Stock Your Pantry There's a fascinating history behind the distinctive shape of SpaghettiOs, and that circular pasta was designed to be easy to eat and retain texture during the rigorous canning process. In 2010, part of that canning process went wrong and led to a recall that included 15 million pounds of three different types of SpaghettiOs with meatballs: The regular Os, A to Z, and the car-shaped noodles. The recall wasn't just a large one in terms of quantity, and covered products that had been manufactured all the way back to December of 2008. The problem, Campbell's said, was with one of the cookers in the company's Texas-based production facility. Although the announcement stressed that no reports of undercooked SpaghettiOs had been received, no illnesses had been connected to the cans, and there was the high likelihood that the majority of product covered in the recall had already been eaten, they were playing it safe. Defective cans had been discovered during a routine inspection, and in the following investigation, it was discovered that the cooker wasn't at the right temperature. Since it was impossible to tell how long the cooker had been malfunctioning, Campbell's decided to issue the voluntary, nationwide recall that would effectively remove all potentially affected products from the market. Although it might be a foolproof way to keep a shelf-stable protein on hand, there are some clear signs that your canned tuna isn't good anymore. The most obvious is damage to the cans, and that's what kicked off a huge recall of Bumble Bee tuna back in 1982. It started with a complaint from one California-based customer, who found a hole in a can. More complaints from customers across the country started rolling in, and further investigation found that it wasn't a more widespread problem than initially thought: Cans were being potentially punctured by the equipment used at the company's processing facility in Honolulu, and those holes were being hidden beneath the labels. All of the tuna processed by the plant was recalled, going all the way back to the beginning of the previous year. It amounted to about 40 million cans, and if you're thinking that's a ton of tuna, it is. At the time of the recall, experts were estimating that it was going to cause a widespread tuna shortage, and availability would take as long as eight months to rebound. Welcoming a new little life into the family definitely comes with a ton of stress and unlocks a whole new set of things to worry about, and back in 2010, Similac added something else to the list. A whopping five million cans of infant formula were being recalled, after beetles were discovered in one of the company's processing plants. The voluntary recall covered three different sizes of powdered formula, and was issued alongside reassurances that the problem was in hand. The lot numbers of recalled cans included those sold to customers, as well as those used in hospitals. Young children are one of the groups that are often noted as being more susceptible to foodborne illnesses, and they're also more likely to suffer severe cases that an adult's fully-developed immune system if better equipped to handle. 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The cause of the death (and other reported illnesses) was botulism, which takes several forms, all of which are potentially deadly. It occurs after exposure to a spore-producing bacteria that can cause things like nerve paralysis, and in this case, the culprit was canned Alaskan salmon. It was found that cans had been damaged during the manufacturing processes of several separate facilities, and far from being an isolated incident, cans dating back to 1980 — and that were labeled under multiple brand names — were recalled. At the time, it was one of the largest food recalls ever, and in the investigation that followed, it was found that products from other canneries had produced similar concerns. The equipment found to be at fault was changed, food safety measures were overhauled, and surprisingly, there were no other deaths or illnesses associated with the incident. When the massive recall of canned Alaskan salmon hit headlines in 1982, The New York Times noted that as it grew, it was challenging the scale of another recall in recent history. In 1973, it was reported that botulism spores had been discovered in six-pound, nine-ounce cans of mushrooms, leading to a recall of almost 30,000 cans. Another announcement came the following day, expanding the recall. In a bizarre footnote, most of the mushrooms were in the giant cans destined for industrial and commercial use. Many had been shipped to Papa Fabbrini's Frozen Pizzas, and testing confirmed the presence of botulism. (It was later found to be a false positive.) That led to what's called the Great Michigan Pizza Funeral, when about 30,000 pizzas were laid to rest in a ceremony that almost led to the end of Mario Fabbrini's pizza business. Even stranger, things weren't over yet. In January of 1974, it was announced that four-ounce cans of mushrooms that had been manufactured the previous fall had also tested positive for botulism, and were being recalled. After the initial announcement, another followed a few days later. More canned mushrooms were being added to the already long list of brands and distributors impacted. Precise numbers are difficult to track down, but sources suggest that by the time it was over, somewhere around 75 million cans were recalled. Just a few years after the massive recall of canned mushrooms hit headlines in the mid-1970s, there was another. This one happened in 1981, and the danger was once again botulism. Initially, the recall issued by Oxford Royal covered just over 65,000 cans, and was announced after testing done by the Food and Drug Administration detected the presence of botulism spores. 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Bon Vivant went on to declare bankruptcy, the cans were ultimately destroyed, and after three years of hearing about deadly vichyssoise, it's no wonder that people weren't in a hurry to eat it. Food waste happens on a massive scale, and it's always heartbreaking. Wasting meat products is extra heartbreaking, given where meat comes from, and in 2023, Conagra recalled just over 2.5 million pounds of canned meat. It represented about a month's worth of production, and the cause was given as defective cans that compromised food safety. Products included Vienna sausages sold under several brand names as well as potted meat, and although consumers were warned that the defective cans had the potential to spoil or become contaminated with various microorganisms, no illnesses were connected to the products. Still, it's worth mentioning that it wasn't a great year for Conagra. 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After several inspections agreed that no, the tuna was absolutely not safe, the aforementioned fisheries manager released it for sale anyway after one more investigation said that it was probably fine. Tons of complaints started rolling in, and entire shipments of the tuna were even refused by the military for being unsafe and smelling of rotting fish. An official recall was issued, but it only covered around 28,000 cans of the million or so that were deemed a part of the questionable batches. The fisheries manager resigned (and later became the Speaker of the House of Commons), and the incident led to new legislation that prevented government officials from overriding food safety decisions. In 2019, the Food and Drug Administration issued a warning to pet owners: 13.5 million cans of Hill's Science Diet dog food — which had been distributed in 78 different countries — were being recalled for containing deadly levels of vitamin D. High levels of this particular vitamin can cause kidney failure and death, and the stories of dogs who died in a matter of days are absolutely heartbreaking. The recall dragged on over the course of months, as more samples were tested and more cans were added to the recall. By the time it was over, 22 million cans were recalled, and it kicked off a massive investigation into the way Hill's sourced ingredients. According to the FDA's findings, a vitamin mix included in the food hadn't been tested according to the guidelines. What slipped past contained about 33 times the amount of vitamin D as it should have, and it's unclear how many pets died. Some owners lost their dogs before the recall was initiated, and Hill's eventually agreed to pay $12.5 million to settle the lawsuits. Even today, there are still guidelines put in place to help you decide how much tuna is safe to eat each week, and that's because mercury is still a major concern. Recent studies suggest that mercury levels in tuna are still wildly unpredictable, and back in 1970, testing for mercury content led to the recall of about a million cans of tuna. Interestingly, that came with a caveat: The Food and Drug Administration added that they weren't asking customers to return or discard cans if they had any covered by the recall, and said that if they had been consumed, it was fine. Anything unsold was being pulled off the market, and the recall came on the heels of another announcement. The high mercury content was restricted to Grand Union's tuna, and interestingly, the guidelines at the time considered safe mercury limited to be one half part per million. Today, that's been raised to one part per million. Experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that officially, botulism is fairly rare. When four cases were reported in July of 2007, it was safe to say that something was going on. The outbreak — which ultimately grew to include more cases in more states — was traced back to Castleberry foods. It led to a recall of 91 different products and 111 million total cans of foods including chili sauce and chili. Testing done on the same day that the recall was issued found 16 cans containing botulism spores, and the subsequent investigation turned up evidence of malfunctioning and improperly monitored equipment, and badly calibrated temperature gauges that were said to have contributed to underprocessing. While Castleberry blamed the incident on malfunctioning equipment and not lax safety measures, the facility was shut down, and the company agreed to pay an undisclosed amount to settle lawsuits. The FDA, meanwhile, blamed oversight. Decades had passed since the last major botulism outbreak, and the incident led to heightened check in other plants... which then led to another 1.2 million-can recall of New Era beans. Testing had discovered traces of botulism spores in those products, leading to a nationwide warning being issued about the dangers of cutting corners. In 2025, the year was ushered in with an announcement that major grocery stores were recalling canned tuna in more than 25 states. The problem was with faulty can lids that potentially didn't seal properly, leaving the cans vulnerable to contamination. It's unclear just how many cans were included in Tri-Union Seafoods' voluntary recall, but just the fact that there was a laundry list of brands and retails stores in so many states suggests that it was a widespread problem. Retailers carrying the tuna included Trader Joe's, Kroger, Safeway, Walmart, Costco, H-E-B, and other, independent grocers. Tri-Union Seafoods has been in headlines for recalls before. In 2016, they — along with H-E-B and Bumble Bee — announced that thousands of cases of tuna were being recalled after a machinery failure was discovered, and questions were raised about whether or not cans had been underprocessed. The company had another, smaller recall back in 2010, when it was announced a recall of around 1,000 cases of Chicken of the Sea tuna. Here, too, the problem was with the sealing of the cans, and it was traced back to production issues. Read the original article on Tasting Table.
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Carrying My New Husband Across the Threshold
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The Dangers Of Raw Milk, According To An Expert
At this point, if you've ever wandered through a local farmer's market or fallen into a TikTok wellness rabbit hole filled with 'home on the range' tradwife energy, you've probably stumbled into the raw milk debate — which, FYI, is rife with hashtags like #primal, #healing, #therawtruth, and #divinemasculinity. The central claim from the raw milk camp is that pasteurization — heating milk to kill harmful bacteria — also wipes out all the good stuff. Some even say this is why your lactose-intolerant stomach can't handle conventional dairy. However, according to Dr. Supriya Rao, a board-certified gastroenterologist (read: an actual medical expert, not someone with a ring light and a soft filter), that claim doesn't totally hold up. In fact, much of the raw milk argument neglects the fact that raw dairy can harbor harmful pathogens like E. coli or Listeria. And, while 'some individuals with lactose intolerance report better tolerance to raw dairy due to natural lactase enzymes, there is limited evidence to support this,' says Dr. Rao. Another raw milk argument? That pasteurization only became necessary when people moved into cities and stopped milking cows in their backyards. The demand for milk skyrocketed, cows got packed into grimy urban dairies, and their diets devolved into "swill" — leftover distillery mash with zero nutrients. Unsurprisingly, this became a bacterial disaster. Enter Louis Pasteur, who developed pasteurization in the 1860s. And while the French may now be the poster children for raw cheese, they also figured out early on that maybe we shouldn't risk death-by-dairy. So, where are we now? The dust has settled, and raw milk seems to be enjoying a second life as a #healthygirl accessory. For the rest of us plebeians, it still feels like a shortcut to a week-long, salmonella-fueled diarrhea spiral. Even doctors on TikTok have stepped in now, begging people to chill the hell out. One creator (@rubin_allergy) — again, actual MD and board-certified allergist, not just someone who has #healedtheirgut — warns that the issue isn't just adults making risky gut choices. It's the kids. 'There are many members of society who are vulnerable to misinformation and don't have much control over their decisions,' Dr. Rubin says. Translation: your toddler didn't exactly opt into the crunchy granola, raw-milk-loving life. Okay, sure. We can admit that pasteurization insignificantly removes a few enzymes and vitamins. But let's not lose the plot. As Dr. Rao puts it plainly: 'The benefits do not outweigh the risks.' Unless you're personally milking Bessie in your backyard — and also scrubbing down your equipment like you're prepping for surgery — raw milk is a gamble. A cute glass bottle and a rustic label don't cancel out the very real possibility of pathogens like E. coli, Listeria, and even tuberculosis. And no, 'small-batch' doesn't mean 'sterile.' 'Even with strict sanitation, contamination can occur during milking, storage, or transport,' says Rao. Yum-my. If you truly love raw milk, churn butter on your own time and live your Laura Ingalls Wilder reboot. But if you're promoting it online like it's the dairy version of the Ten Commandments, include a disclaimer: this isn't for everyone. Most people don't have the time, space, or money to keep their own cow, and once you're relying on external producers, you're right back where we started — trusting industrial systems to handle something inherently risky. Sure, maybe our ancestors drank raw milk. But they also lived through polio, lacked indoor plumbing, and thought bloodletting was peak healthcare. Not every historical habit needs a comeback. Now let's talk about the French because, of course. They adore raw dairy, and yes, the cheese counters of France are basically temples to mold and milk. But there's a major difference: they don't take chances with the milk itself. Raw cheese is aged. 'FDA regulations require raw cheese to be aged at least 60 days,' says Rao. 'During this time, harmful bacteria are often neutralized by natural cultures and lactic acid, making the cheese safer.' Let's not forget that the entire process of pasteurization exists because of France. Remember, Mr. Pasteur, the man himself, developed the method to prevent microbial contamination in food and wine and later, milk. It was a life-saving breakthrough, not a government overreach. Abandoning it in the name of 'natural health' is like rejecting penicillin because it came from a lab and wasn't grown on organic sourdough. So, when is raw dairy okay? In regulated, controlled environments, like aging rooms with microbial testing with products that are monitored and time-buffered to reduce risk. But raw dairy as a lifestyle brand? As a wellness shortcut or a sign of anti-establishment enlightenment? That's where things get dicey. Unless you live on a fully sanitized, self-sustaining farm with a cow and a microbiology lab in your barn, you're probably better off sticking to the pasteurized stuff. Hungry for more? Download our free Tasty app to browse and save 7,500+ free recipes — no subscription required.
