Always keep in mind that a very important part of a food storage plan is to keep it rotated. Items do get old and can spoil. Temperature is another important factor in keeping food storage items at their best for taste and nutritional value.
The Steamboat Bertrand sunk April 1, 1865 loaded with cargo headed for the goldfields of Montana. The steamboat hit a snag and struggled to make it to shallow waters where it sank north of Omaha, Nebraska. Although it sank on the Nebraska side of the Missouri River, the river subsequently meandered and was rechanneled, leaving the wreck deeply buried in silt well east of the Missouri. It was excavated in 1968, funded largely by a private partnership attempting to recover large amounts of mercury that were believed to be on board, however only small amounts of mercury were recovered, and the remainder of the cargo became the property of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Its cargo is now on display at the Desto National Wildlife Refuge in Iowa, and contains the largest intact collection of Civil War-era artifacts in the United States, including mining equipment, clothing, Indian trade items, military ammunition, plows, and tens of thousands of household goods including candles, canned goods and preserves, dishes, knives, other house wares, matches, pipes, and liquor.
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. The chemists reported 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.
