How Long Does Spam Last (And Why)?

Exact Answer: 10 Days To 5 Years

Meat is one of the most commonly used staple ingredients in the world that can be made into both sweet and savory dishes. There are more than a hundred types of seafood and meat, but some of them are available everywhere around the world. The meat a person chooses to cook is based on how well it is available, its affordability, how nutritious it is, and the most important factor of all, how good it tastes. There are different products which can be made from meat.

Sometimes, only single meat is used to create the meat product or dish, but, sometimes, more than one meat will also be used. The shelf life of any kind of meat depends on how well they are stored, and where they are stored. Meat must be stored in the correct places at optimal conditions. One meat product, which is a mixture of a couple of meat is spam, which is not popular, but also not unheard of.

How Long Does Spam Last?

The word “spam” originally stands for spiced ham but as time passed on, the word morphed into spam, and it was marked as a healthy food decades ago. Spam is a cooked meat product, which is made up of two types of meat, processed ham, and ground pork, and it is also canned most of the time. People normally don’t make spam meat in their houses and just buy them canned from grocery stores.

The mixture also contains some flavoring agents, has preservatives, and after mixing up all the ingredients and cooking them properly, they must be canned, closed, and the meat should certainly be vacuum sealed. The flavoring agents used in spam meat include salt, sugar, sodium nitrate, potato starch, and much more. Spam is popularly known as the canned pork meat made by a company called the Hormel Foods Corporation.

Though the dish was first introduced in 1937, it was later prepared and sold to more than 41 countries in and around the six continents of the world. The meat can be served both hot and cold, and the native origin of the dish is Minnesota. Spam meat comes under the category of precooked canned meat, and it can be served and eaten both hot and cold.

Why Does Spam Last That Long?

Since spam meat is the mixture of two of the healthiest meat in the world, they are brimming with nutrients. It contains a healthy level of calories, fat, carbs, and protein. Spam meat is also rich in sodium, zinc, potassium, iron, and copper. Spam meat is highly processed and since it is processed, it has enhanced texture, taste, and the shelf life will also be longer than normal meat. Eating spam meat is not a bad thing, but since it is highly processed, it is not good to continuously eat spam meat.

Spam meat is also very easy to prepare and store, and it only requires a few ingredients. Spam meat is precooked, so it can be eaten straight out of the can, and before eating it, all it needs is a little preparation. Though it can be eaten straight out of the can, it can be also added to dishes like rice, pasta, sandwiches, sliders, and much more.

There are many ways to store canned meat, and how they are stored determines how long they stay fresh. Just like every other type and product of meat, spam meat will also exhibit signs that they are spoilt.

Conclusion

Normally, spam meat is stored either in the refrigerator or in the pantry. When the can is not opened, it can be stored in the pantry, but if they are opened and used, it is a must to store them in the fridge. Surprisingly, spam meat will last in the pantry for about 2 to 5 years, which is a miracle, but after it is opened, it will only last for a week.

When a can of spam meat is stored in the fridge after it is opened, it will last for around 7 to 10 days.

References

1. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2752/155280107780154088
2. https://journals.flvc.org/owl/article/view/84132