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I just discovered this stuff, and want to add it to my long-term food storage. But I can't seem to find anything definitive about how long it lasts (in order to consume it safely, not necessarily for optimum flavor). I've googled around a little, but thought some of you here might know.
One source says it can be stored "indefinitely," while other sites only talk about storing it for one year, or 5-10 years.
The jar has no date, not even a "best by" date. It's "PB Fit."
So can I buy 10 jars of this and store it in a cool dry place and forget about it, with the idea that I can eat it in case of a serious SHTF scenario? I do rotate a lot of my stored food, but I want some things I can just shelve and forget about (like freeze dried foods in #10 cans).
It has carbs, salt, sugar, fiber, and most importantly, protein, and all you have to do is mix it with water. They take out most of the fat, so there is little to no chance of rancidity.
Keep in mind that oils become rancid fairly quickly under most conditions. That's why we only store canned pet food, never the dry stuff which is full of oil.
Thanks. But I kinda didn't want to actually call anybody. That's why I posted here
Besides, you can't rely on manufacturers to tell you the real shelf life. They are motivated by wanting you to think it's gone bad before it really has, so you'll replenish more often. Plus, most companies will tell you a shorter time period because they are afraid of lawsuits.
With PB Fit, the oils have been removed. The Honeyville stuff has other ingredients including added oils. PB Fit's ingredients are just peanuts, sugar, and salt.
Powdered peanut butter has a declared stable shelf life of 4-5 years from packaging if properly hermetically sealed. If kept at temperatures not exceeding 70 degrees, you can expect a potential life around 5 or maybe 6 years. According to test initially started by the US Army (now being continued through DHS/FEMA) useful shelf life can be extended by the reduction of temperatures not to exceed 50 degrees and not disturbed. At the lower temperatures with the product package being static, samples have shown stable shelf life of 10 years.
Now the bad news, The product have to remain static and "cold" in order to maintain the longer extended shelf life. Moving the product or subjecting it to temperatures above 50 degrees will greatly diminish the extended shelf life. But even more of an issue is once the package seal is opened, the usable life of the product degrades both in taste and more importantly in rancidity. So, what manufactures state is usually 2 years with best used within 6 months of opening. That shelf life can be extended through proper handling and temperature controls but the longer out the products shelf life is extended, the shorter the usable period once open.
You don't want to call the company that makes it because you think they will lie to you, yet you are willing to take advice from unknown sources that are really only guessing.
I thought people here would have more experience in true shelf-lives, or they might have references I have not found with independent entities finding a certain shelf life. I would not just randomly trust a stranger online, but I would definitely use the info they provide to check out further references. No, I would not trust the manufacturer, for the above reasons.
Honeyville posts online that their powdered peanut butter last 5-10 years in a sealed #10 can and in a cool, dry place - and 1 year in the plastic pouch., The canned product should last about a year AFTER you open the can, depending on how you store it. While peanut butter powder does "squeeze" the oil out of it, it really doesn't get it all.
When a manufacture provides a "expiration date" for the product (regardless is they use a use by, or best by, or anything else) it means one of two things.
If the product is a regular consumed item, it's generally the last date the manufacture expects it to be fresh and 100% like the day it was packaged. That doesn't mean it's still not good, they just tell you that is it as far as they are wiling to back the product. Sometimes the day reflects testing, other times its based on an assumption. Often they will split the date and pick a period that is long enough to make sure they have a good rotation of the product and long enough that consumers think its not a waste to buy extra, but short enough that you are not keeping old (yet still good) items around. If they can get you to throw it away a bit prematurely, they sell more.
If a product is designed for long term storage, the shelf life is normally the last time where the manufacture is willing to stake their product and reputation on it still being fresh. It's the same as above, just they let the date go out to the furthest testing that showed its still edible. From time to time, there are manufactures of products that will package the same item in two forms, one marketed as regular consumer items and anther as long shelf life; same item, just different labeling. You may also see a product that had a 1 year shelf life but the next year it has 1.5 years and the next 2 years. This occurs when the manufacture is still testing and has not yet reached the point where their original samples are no longer edible.
You also have outside evaluations such as what the military and DHS does, they buy a few cases of a product and store them in a warehouse in the midwest. Every year they take some packages and test it. Regardless of the manufactures expiration date, they may be testing a product that expired 5 years ago and if they all test as still good, they publish these for other emergency management agencies. This lets everyone know how long specific brands can last in an emergency.
As far as government testing for longevity, they try to ignore any off color, smell or initial taste (were talking slight not clear the room stinky) and its not unusual for some testers to detect it and others to find nothing wrong. The main purpose is that when properly prepared, the product will be edible, provide the nutritional values stated, and there are nothing that can cause any illness present.
The nutritional value of the powdered peanut butter (as compared to the real thing) is about the same as the nutritional value of eating newspapers.
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