Why does the "twinkie"have a 50 year shelf life?

Question

and who found out it still tasted good after 50 years.

twinkie is the one saying it has a 50 years shelf life

Answer 1

Welcome to the world of urban legends.

This is one of those things that everyone hears and believes (because it makes sense: it tells you something you want to believe, that twinkies are so filled with preservatives that they must be bad for you) but isn't actually true. Twinkies expire just like most other pasteries.

Nevertheless, it's entered into our popular culture. Because everyone has heard it (and most people believe it) you can say something "lasts longer than a twinkie" and everyone will know what you mean.

Here's a link that covers this well:
http://www.snopes.com/food/ingredient/twinkies.htm

Here's a quote from it: "Twinkies have a shelf life of twenty-five days, not seven years, and certainly not fifty years. Even so, twenty-five days is an unusually long time for a baked product to stay fresh. The secret to Twinkies' longevity is their lack of dairy ingredients — because dairy products are not part of the formula, Twinkies spoil much more slowly than other bakery items."

So next time you hear somebody telling you about twinkies you'll know better and can correct them.

Good luck.

Answer 2

Twinkies do not really have an indefinite shelf life. They do contain organic material, however processed it may be, and Hostess suggests a limit of 3 years on their shelf life. Of course, you could eat them after this limit, but they would be exceptionally stale and probably taste awful. The 50 year shelf life is an urban legend. I, however, do happen to have a trunk full of WWII army rations that have never been opened - I would be more comfortable with those than a 50 year-old Twinkie.

Answer 3

Twinkie shelf life is 25 days
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twinkie

I have heard the myth debunked before
wikipedia is reliable enough source for me
guess you could double check on snopes if still in doubt

Answer 4

I had a twinkie that molded after about 2 weeks. I'm pretty sure that's just an urban legend.

Answer 5

I don't about it lasting 50 years, but I do know they have preservatives in them up the yahoo.

Answer 6

Because of the copious amounts of preservatives and chemicals used in the production process. They are unnatural, yet so tasty!

Answer 7

Thats really scary

Answer 8

It is a lie so that fat shits will buy their product

dumbass, go to college

Answer 9

ill tell you why, and its only one word, preservatives

Answer 10

its not food