Question about Storing Canned Food?

Question

I went camping and brought along numerous cans of food. Beans, fruits, chili, veggies and glass jars of spaghetti sauce.
When we returned home I failed to unload all the cans of food and they sat in out trailer for a week in heat upwards of 100 degrees or so. My question: Are they still safe to eat? Is there a cutoff point where heat makes canned food/jars of food unsafe to eat? I never thought of it before until a neighbor lady mentioned something about it possibly being unsafe to eat now. Is she a nut who made me become a paranoid loon, or is there validity to this?

Thanks

Answer 1

She's a nut that doesn't know what she's talking about. She's probably a little old lady who's afraid of her own shadow.

Canned foods are cooked in the can or heated with the can sealed to destroy any bacteria, unless the cans are compromised - rust hole or something, then it should be safe to eat.

Edit -
The worst things you can do is to smell or taste without thoroughly cooking any questionable canned foods. A lot of the food bourne pathogens do not cause a smell in food or alter the taste. If you taste it straight from the can, you're ingesting the toxins which can cause illness.

The point is - if you are in doubt, don't taste the food before cooking it.

Answer 2

Unless something has damaged the cans (punctures, or a serious dent), your food is fine. Canned food is effectively sterile; that's why it stays preserved so long. It might be slightly "cooked" when you open it, but even that is unlikely. Your neighbor isn't thinking it through; she's not a nut - just over-cautious; and you can quit worrying - you're not a loon, OR paranoid :-)

Answer 3

Absolutely positively 100% safe!

Bert

Answer 4

I have never heard of such a thing.....think about the canned goods sitting in a warehouse getting loaded onto a Semi to deliver to another warehouse where it is then distributed to grocers....Such states like TX and FL have incredibly hard summers where the temp. can reach into the triple digits for weeks at a time....

Answer 5

Your neighbor and all the answerers telling you it's not safe are not thinking-like one guy said, that food sat in un-air conditioned warehouses for weeks. Unless the containers are damaged or swollen (sign of botulism) it's fine.

Answer 6

Any sign of it being off will be the swelling of the cans. Canned food is used in the tropics with no detrimental effects.

Answer 7

Hello:

I really hate to say this but,"When in doubt throw it out!" It is better to be safe than sorry and if you consumed these canned foods after they were exposed to such hot temperatures,you could get ill from eating these foods.

It is always best to store canned foods in a cool,dry place away from any kind of heat sources!

Answer 8

Can goods in that temperature can easily spoil!
I would not trust them after being exposed to that temperature.
Canned goods are fine and will keep almost indefinitely when they are stored at a constant reasonable temperature.
100+ degree weather is not considered reasonable.

Answer 9

It should be fine, just smell it to see if it smells funny before you chow down...

Answer 10

i wouldnt eat them. they should be kept in a cool dry dark place.