13 Foods That Never Expire (And How to Best Store Them)
We’ve often talked about food expiration dates, how important it is to respect them both for safety—therefore, eating healthy, bacteria-free products—and for quality, ensuring we’re consuming products that maintain their organoleptic and nutritional properties at their peak. But did you know that there are foods that don’t expire and that not only last for years, but can also be consumed long after the date legally indicated on the packaging? Once the expiration date has passed, we often give in to the bad habit of throwing away food without even checking its condition, thus generating food waste that is no longer sustainable. Yet, a little extra attention and better information would be enough to significantly reduce waste.
Also because there’s a necessary distinction to be made between expiration dates and “best before” dates: we often assume that one term is equivalent to the other, when in fact this isn’t the case. The second term, in fact, means that those foods can actually be consumed even after the indicated date because, while losing some of their organoleptic properties, they cannot be harmful in any way. Unlike “use by” foods, which, once the indicated date has passed, can deteriorate and become dangerous.
So, by paying attention to how product expiration dates are indicated, you can stock up on foods that, if stored properly, won’t spoil and can be consumed safely even years after you purchased them. What are they? Here are 13.
1. Pasta
Spaghetti, rigatoni, penne lisce and rigate, fusilli, or mezze maniche: the pasta shape doesn’t matter, because any type of pasta, properly sealed and stored, never expires. Dried pasta already has a very long shelf life, ranging from 24 to 36 months, and despite this, it can be consumed long after the expiration date, as long as it is stored properly, in a cool, dry place, and away from heat sources. Why? The reason is very simple: dried pasta has such a low moisture content that it doesn’t allow bacterial growth, although it’s always a good idea to be careful about pantry staples before consuming it.
