other words, the trick is to make it through the first 10 months of Spam and Spaghettios after which we'll probably become pretty good hunters and fishermen or die. The article contains other links to the studies. One discusses analysis of canned food items retrieved in 1968 from a ship that sank over 100 years ago. "Among the canned food items retrieved from the Bertrand in 1968 were brandied peaches, oysters, plum tomatoes, honey, and mixed vegetables. In 1974, chemists at the National Food Processors Association (NFPA) analyzed the products for bacterial contamination and nutrient value. Although the food had lost its fresh smell and appearance, the NFPA chemists detected no microbial growth and determined that the foods were as safe to eat as they had been when canned more than 100 years earlier. The nutrient values varied depending upon the product and nutrient. NFPA chemists Janet Dudek and Edgar Elkins report that significant amounts of vitamins C and A were lost. But protein levels remained high, and all calcium values 'were comparable to today's products.'" "NFPA chemists also analyzed a 40-year-old can of corn found in the basement of a home in California. Again, the canning process had kept the corn safe from contaminants and from much nutrient loss. In addition, Dudek says, the kernels looked and smelled like recently canned corn." And so on. Canned food obviously lasts =far= longer than use-by dates, and there's no reason to throw out canned food just because it's "expired." (If the