How to Tell if Food is Good or Bad

Discussion in 'Food Storage - Canning/Freezing/Butchering/Prep' started by SurvivalGirl87, Apr 27, 2016.

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  1. SurvivalGirl87

    SurvivalGirl87 Member
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    When it comes to the storage of your food something you need to be vigilant for is signs that your food is contaminated or is no longer good. Once food reaches its expiration, it can be very dangerous if consumed. Sometimes it's not always the expiration date that causes food to not be safe for consumption. Parasites and pests can make their way into food supplies. When this happens all sorts of contaminants are brought into your food.

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    Mice and rats, for example, will not only destroy your food supplies by eating them they will also contaminate your food supplies by urinating and defecating on in and around your food. Keeping your eyes open for mites and worms as well as signs of rodents is a very important aspect in maintaining a healthy stock and supply of food. You can tell if food has gone bad typically by sight and smell. If something doesn't look good, typically it's not good. If something doesn't smell right trust your nose, it's probably not right either.

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    By a simple visual inspection of your food and the storage area, it is in you can determine whether or not you are at risk of becoming sick due to food that has gone bad. Knowing the signs to look for such as rodent droppings or opened areas of exposed food will help not only keep you safe but anyone who is relying on your food source as well.
     
  2. lonewolf

    lonewolf Societal Collapse Survivalist. Staff Member
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    Look at it, that's why we have eyes.
    Smell it, that's why we have noses.
    Taste it, that's why we have taste buds in our mouths.
    if it passes these 3 tests, its probably alright but eat just a small amount first to be sure.
     
  3. filmjunkie08

    filmjunkie08 Active Member
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    I agree with lonewolf. My mother was a teenager during the Great Depression where food was never wasted and was eaten if at all possible. If she had any question about food that may have gone bad, I remember her taking several whiffs of the item to see if it was still edible.
     
  4. BeautifullyBree

    BeautifullyBree Active Member
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    My mom always did the "smell test". I found it hard to understand what normal smelled like vs not normal. She always seemed to know within seconds or smelling something . I suppose the best way to solve my problem is to start smelling all my food before I could it .
     
  5. appleandcinnamon

    appleandcinnamon New Member
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    I think food gone bad tends to smell pretty sour. It has something to do with bacterial activity and decomposition producing some sort of acid.
     
  6. Ystranc

    Ystranc Master Survivalist
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    Since our bodies have involuntary reactions to putrid smelling food, we react by retching, vomiting etc and avoid that particular food. It would normally be bacterial cross contamination that would be the danger.
    Our sense of smell makes bad food repellent, often putting us off eating altogether but most types of bacteria are undetectable without a taking a swab for a bacterial count, microscopic slide or a culture. Often bacteria will only be debilitating for a few days but some can kill even a healthy person
    In addition there are fungi that infect cereals that can drive you insane before dieting horribly.
    If it's a food that you don't recognise I would suggest you exercise even more caution even though some of the reasons for finding food repellent can be cultural rather than physiological.
     
    Last edited: Jul 4, 2017
  7. appleandcinnamon

    appleandcinnamon New Member
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    At the same time, liking fermented foods is an interesting phenomenon. Aren't fermented foodstuffs *technically* decomposing?
     
  8. Tumbleweed

    Tumbleweed Expert Member
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    Fermented foods are decomposing; but they are also developing good strains of bacteria which are beneficial to the body. Even milk has usually been left to culture in many societies, simply because there was no refrigeration to keep it fresh.
    Sour milk itself is not unhealthy, and this is how we get cultures like yogurt, kefir, andother fermented milk products. However, milk that has been processed, pasteurized and homogenized, does not sour properly like raw milk does, and then it goes bad, it should not be used for drinking.
    I make fresh kefir, and I do make it from pasteurized milk, because I no longer have a milk goat, or a way to purchase the raw milk. However, I make the kefir while the milk is still fresh and not starting to spoil. Once it has cultured into kefir, it will keep a lot longer, and just keep culturing.
    Most vegetables can be fermented, or pickled in vinegar, or in their own brine, and then they will keep without spoiling. The brine keeps the bad bacteria from spoiling the vegetable.
    Fermented foods, like pickles, sauerkraut, kimchi, and even sourdough bread are very healthy foods, and we would do well to add more of these foods into our daily diet.
     
  9. Ystranc

    Ystranc Master Survivalist
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    experiment...smell test fermented food products and putrid meat or fish and tell us which one makes you feel most ill.:eek:
     
  10. explorerx7

    explorerx7 Expert Member
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    Whenever food goes bad it will give off an odor which will indicate that its deteriorating or decaying and some items will even become moldy. These are some signs that will alert you to the fact that the food is spoilt.
     
  11. overcast

    overcast Member
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    Some of the time you have to taste it. Because it's color and the smell may not change. And some of the time you can see that food is not safe simply by looking at the color. For example, you can verify the curd color. And same can be said for the smell too. You may find in some cases where the food may start to lose it's quality end up having the bad smell. So that's another option for confirming the bad food. You have to check with all these observations to verify.
     
  12. kgord

    kgord Active Member
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    Often food that has gone bad will also change in texture. It will be slimy or be a pale version of itself. Food that has gone bad never fails to give off some kind of signal, but if we are preoccupied we may not always notice it. I know someone who got sick from eating coleslaw that had spent some time under a heat lamp at a restaurant. Since, it was just one item on her plate she didn't notice any difference in taste.
     
  13. SirJoe

    SirJoe Expert Member
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    There are a lot of places that have fermented foods that don't look or smell that good. Surstromming comes to mind. I think just as long as you don't have a gag reflex you should be okay eating it.
     
  14. lonewolf

    lonewolf Societal Collapse Survivalist. Staff Member
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    bump.
     
  15. Corzhens

    Corzhens Master Survivalist
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    As per our training at home, there are 3 stages of determining the quality of food. I'm talking about dishes. First step is the look. Using a visual scan of the food, maybe you need a spoon to check the inner portion, you can discern if it's still good. Second step is the odor. Use your nose to check on the smell. If the dish smells like what is should be then you are on the right track. And for confirmation, the 3rd step is to taste it. When spoiled, the food will have a sour taste. That's no good. And if your taste buds agree then you can swallow that spoonful that you sampled.
     
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