Shelf Life of Common Food Items

Stored food will eventually lose its nutritional value as time takes its toll it, even if you are able to protect your food from the elements and creeping insects and rodents. It is important to have a good concept of what shelf life is and how you may best use this concept to your advantage. All foods have a shelf life that determines the period for which they are good to consume .


Several things eventually happen when food is stored for too long, it loses its texture, shape, smell and nutritional value. Stored food should always be consumed before it expires. All foods have varying shelf-lives: Wheat has a 20 year shelf-life, dehydrated fruits and vegetables can be stored for up to 6 years, dehydrated eggs and dairy can be stocked for about 5 years, canned food items can be stored for 2 years, etc. It should be made clear that these numbers are only valid if the food is properly stored.

The table below should give a general picture of the shelf life of commonly stored foods.

Type of Food	Shelf life
Wheat	20 years
Grains	10 years
Canned food items	2 years
Dairy foods	4 years
Naturally dried fruits and vegetables	8 years
Opened dried foods	1 year
Freeze dried foods (unopened)	25 years
Dehydrated foods (unopened)	8-10 years