How old is too old for canned goods?

Damn, I used to live on chef boyardee, haven't had it in about six years now though. Just can't stomach it any more. But would eat it without reheating it, and roll from there. Really, I think unless the can was dented or bulging, you should be OK. I think. Maybe get a little food poisoning, but I think you can count out botulism.

 

Good. I was afraid you might be live-blogging.

 

"Rotating the stock" is your friend.

 

Yeah canned goods will be fine years - years! - after their "best buy" date.

 

When I was a kid, I had some friends whose father worked at Campbell's. This was in the 80s.
They used to get these little, frozen cheesesteak squares. You couldn't get them in the supermarket. Campbell's only distrusted them is vending machines in workplace lunch rooms.
These things were the best. We used to practically beg our friends for them.

So, you got any of those?

 

Unfortunately, no.

The plant my dad worked at largely produced all of Campbell's products involving tomatoes.

 

I seem to be a little typing-challenged lately.

 

Update: I passed the 12 hour window without incident. A little gas last night, nothing out of the ordinary.
So, the question has been answered.
Four-year-old canned goods -- assuming structural integrity is intact -- are not tasty, but will not kill you. Keep that in the back of your mind in case of apocalypse.

 

Are you talking about Steak-Ums?

OMG! Those were my childhood Saturday afternoons in a nutshell. My mom would fry up those frozen steak patties, put them on a bun with a slice of Kraft cheese and wrap them in aluminum foil and pop them in the oven to melt up.

 

I ate plenty of Steak-Ums growing up.
These were different.

 

Not the same thing, but Wal-Mart sells these Sam's Club brand philly steaks that are pretty good. They come out of the package looking like actual steaks, and you break them up as they thaw and cook in the skillet. Was it similar looking to these:

 

When I saw this thread title, my first thought was "What a stupid question. You're never too old for canned goods".