Common food items that do not expire

July 26, 2026 12:00 am

Dr. Sylvester Ikhisemojie

In these times of worsening economic uncertainty and challenges with providing quality food and adequate nutrition for the family, it is important for people everywhere to be intentional about proper food storage techniques and to have adequate knowledge of how to make the small amount of food available last longer.

The number one item on this esoteric list is honey. This is the one food item that most people have heard about. Honey does not expire. Archaeologists have found pots of honey in Egyptian tombs that were over 3,000 years old, and it was still perfectly edible. The reason is simple: honey has an incredibly low moisture content, such that bacteria literally cannot survive in it. Even if honey crystallises, and it will over time, you just warm it gently, and it goes right back to its liquid form. Raw, unfiltered honey is best because it has not been heated or processed in ways that reduce its natural preservative qualities. So, store it in glass jars in a cool, dark place and keep it. This is one of those items where knowledge is real power. If most people know this, they will stop throwing it away.

The second item is white rice, and if you are not storing white rice right now, you are making a mistake. Plain white rice, when stored properly in airtight containers with oxygen absorbers, has an almost indefinite shelf life. We are talking of 30 years or more, according to food storage research from multiple university extension programmes. Brown rice does not count here because it has oils in the bran layer that go rancid within six months to one year. White rice does not have that layer, which is why it lasts so long. So, if the rice you buy is kept in proper plastic buckets and you add oxygen absorbers, you could save yourself a lot of money by storing enough rice to feed your family for months. Many households find themselves eating too much of one food item they have at home because failure to do so leads to it going bad. Such food goes bad because they have limited knowledge of proper storage techniques. If such food items could be kept properly and safely, such unnecessary eating could be curbed and a more balanced approach to eating embraced by many homes.

Salt is the third item. This food additive seems obvious, but most people do not actually think about it. Salt is a compound with minimal moisture content. It is not a biological substance. It does not decompose, and it does not rot. Salt has been used as a preservative for thousands of years precisely because it is one of the most stable substances on earth. However, table salt with added iodine can technically lose its iodine potency after about five years. The salt itself will still be fine, but the iodine supplement will fade. Salt without additives, however, such as sea salt or pink Himalayan salt, will last indefinitely without any change whatsoever. Many people who are old enough will remember the periods of acute salt scarcity during the Nigerian Civil War when, in addition to the lack of adequate protein in food, people did not have enough salt to season their paltry meals, leading to a host of additional mineral deficiencies, especially among children. If many households had had enough foresight to safely store even small amounts of salt, many such deficiencies would have been ameliorated or entirely avoided. The disruptions to supply chains caused by war and civil strife are then incredibly magnified.

The fourth item on our list is granulated sugar. This is another food item that lasts indefinitely when stored correctly. The key challenge lies in keeping moisture out of the sugar. It does not support microbial growth because of its low moisture content, so even after many months or even years, you can simply break it up or dissolve it in warm water, and it will be absolutely fine. It will taste exactly the same as the one the food industry has put a “Best Used” date on. Accordingly, you can store such sugar for a number of years without losing a thing. Powdered sugar and brown sugar are slightly different because of the added cornstarch and molasses, so for true long-term storage, just get plain white granulated sugar.

The fifth item on the list is dried beans, and it is one of the most underrated survival foods on the planet. When kept dry and sealed, they can last well over 25 years, and their nutritional value may decrease only slightly over very long periods. This means they might take longer to cook after a decade or two, but they remain safe and edible. Canned beans are great, and people often have the wrong ideas about them, but they have a realistic shelf life of about three to five years before their quality starts to decline.

People who live in estates where the power supply is relatively stable can also store beans in zip-lock bags and keep them in freezers.

Instant coffee is another food item that can remain safe and edible for a long time despite the expiry dates routinely printed on the containers. Statistically, instant coffee and freeze-dried coffee in sealed packaging can last 20 years or more without going bad. The freeze-drying process removes virtually all the moisture, which is the primary cause of spoilage. So, when it is sealed in an airtight container, there is simply nothing to decompose. Instant coffee does not taste as good as freshly ground coffee, but this is about having a reliable source of caffeine and comfort that will be there no matter what happens to the supply chain, especially during an extended disruption when coffee could disappear from shelves quickly, just as we saw during the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vinegar is another item that can last for many years. The shelf life of vinegar is almost indefinite. White distilled vinegar will remain virtually unchanged for years because its acidic nature means that nothing harmful can grow in it.

Questions and answers

Good evening, doctor. I was diagnosed with high blood pressure after I had my last baby 11 months ago. The delivery was by operation. Since then, the doctor prescribed Aldomet with Normoretic for me. The last time I went for a check-up was about three months ago, and my blood pressure was fine. But when I started feeling weak, tired and sometimes dizzy over the last two weeks, I went to a nearby pharmacy to check my BP, and it was 97/77 mmHg. I am just confused, sir. It was draining me, so I stopped the drugs. I don’t know if my decision is correct. 080275xxxxx

Well, many gaps exist in your story. We don’t have your age, but you mentioned your last baby was nearly a year ago, so there may be other children. That places your age between 28 and maybe 40 years. Your decision to stop those medications on your own was wrong. You should have seen your doctors and allowed them to make that decision because the traditional way is to taper off the drug dosage. Sudden stoppage can provoke rebound hypertension, but in the interim, you will need to have your blood pressure checked as often as possible, perhaps every other day, so that a proper decision about what to do with your treatment can be made.

Good day, Sunday doctor. I read the answer you gave to the reader who had a fibroid operation by blockage of blood vessels. I am in the same shoes as her right now. Why is the pain so much after the procedure? 080280xxxxx

Well, it is basically because when you have cut off the blood supply to the affected parts of the uterus, that chokes off their oxygen supply. The tissues die off and swelling results, with the effects resembling menstrual cramps, which can vary in severity from mild to severe. Pain relievers can range, as appropriate, from paracetamol to morphine and various combinations of analgesics in between.

Sir, thank you very much for the good work you are doing. God bless you. Please, can somebody who has just had an operation still use perfume? My mother-in-law told me that after a caesarean section, using perfume will delay healing. Is it the same for every woman? 080326xxxxx

Thank you very much for your prayers and kind words. There is no truth in what your mother-in-law has told you about using perfume after an operation. There is no connection between such usage and how a wound heals.

Doctor, good evening, sir. I am 43 years old, and my only son is 12 years old. I had him by caesarean section and have been trying hard since then to conceive again. Three years ago, I had a fibroid operation. Since April this year, I started experiencing pains in the lower part of my tummy. So, I went for a scan and was told that I have fibroids and an ovarian cyst. Can fibroids grow back? What should I do now? I still want to have another child. Please advise me. Thank you. I will send you the report on the scan. 080331xxxxx

Good evening to you. At the age of 43, you are almost at the end of your reproductive run, and some form of assistance will be required. But more to the point is the fact that there is a single fibroid in place and a fairly big right ovarian cyst. In that location, and with a size of 4.4 cm, you can get pregnant and be able to carry until delivery, probably by caesarean section due to your age and the long period between your last delivery and now. The ovarian cyst is described as a simple cyst. At a size of less than 5 cm, it may be a functioning cyst and could regress by itself. It would be better if you could repeat this scan four weeks from July 16, when this scan was done, for the sake of comparison. Lastly, fibroids can recur.

Good morning, doctor. Today, I discovered that one small black spot on the outer part of my left ankle that has been there for at least two years has started to cause me pain when I wear certain kinds of footwear, like sandals, when they touch it. The size has been constant since I first saw it, but after seeing a doctor today at the General Hospital, Gbagada, he told me it was probably skin cancer. Please, what should I do? Thank you. I will share the picture with you on WhatsApp. 081783xxxxx

That seems to be a strange conclusion to reach. That spot looks a lot like an epidermal cyst. Either way, it should be removed and sent for histopathological examination. That will establish what it really is.

Doctor, if somebody wakes up every morning after a good night’s sleep and has pain all over the body, what will be the cause of that? I am 60 years old. I suffer from this kind of problem. I recently retired as a schoolteacher, and I don’t do as much work as I was doing even six or seven weeks ago, so I don’t understand the reason for these pains. Please, I need your advice. Thank you. 080297xxxxx

Several reasons may be responsible for such pain around the body. It will have to start with the kind of bed you sleep on, the type of mattress you use and whether you may be lacking certain minerals and vitamins such as magnesium, calcium and vitamin D. You will need to go to a hospital for a proper examination and relevant tests. After that, a cause is most likely to be found, and you can then have the relevant treatment.

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