Dehydrated Foods

Dehydrated-Freeze Dried foods have a longer shelf life than foods that are canned with liquid.
While I feel there is some wiggle room with "use by dates" on canned items unless you are rotating and going through stock rather quickly you might have some dust covered canned beets from 2003 that you may not feel are still safe to eat.

A way to avoid this altogether is to purchase freeze dried food. Freeze dried food has an incredible shelf life of up to 25 years. You will not get that with traditionally canned goods no matter how careful you are in rotation of cans. Freeze dried foods with a 25 year shelf life can take a lot of worry out of your preps as you do not have to worry if something has gone bad. Having opened a few cans of nasty smelling and lumpy looking canned goods this could become a life or death situation if a person isn't careful.

I also think that because of weight issues, freeze dried foods are easier to transport in a "bug out" situation if the need arises. Mountain House offers several different options for preppers who want to add freeze dried food to their larder. If you have never ate freeze dried food I would suggest you get a 72 hour emergency kit and eat it. For the price of a dinner out($52.00) you could sample the food and see if it would fit with your preparedness plans.

Freeze dried food is also a good choice for BOBs (bug out bags) again because of the weight. Do not forget that hot water is needed to rehydrate the food so where ever you have it stored, do not forget that you will need a means of heating water to prepare it. A mess kit and magnesium fire starter should also be in your BOB so no need to fret.

To learn more about freeze dried food and for ordering info from Mountain House check the link- you will be suprised with the amount of choices there are.
http://www.mountainhouse.com/index.cfm