Canned seafood is one of my favorite storable food options when it comes to prepping. A small stockpile of canned fish products will take up very little room in your prepper pantry. When you consider how affordable they are, you can’t go wrong.
I know it isn’t thought of as the most delicious thing to eat, but here’s the thing. When it comes to shelf life and nutritional value, canned seafood is hard to beat. They really pack a punch in nutrients. Chances are you’ll be experiencing some inflammation in your body during the stressful times of survival, and eating foods that are very high in omega 3 fatty acids will help to counteract that. Canned seafood is also a great source of protein, which isn’t always in abundance is some survival food, and something you will definitely be needing.
That being said, I am not the biggest fan of canned seafood in my day to day life. Some of the Italian dishes I make feature anchovies, but aside from that I don’t really eat sardines or mackerel or tuna in my daily life. Anchovies would have to be my favorite, but it is a rare occasion where I crack open a can and just eat them. I think the only times that I do its because of a motivation to get more omega 3 fatty acids in my system, not because I enjoy eating them for pleasure.
Quality definitely varies when it comes to canned seafood. We think we’ve found a great product here:
Why Canned Seafood Is Important For Food Preps (H2 tag)
You’ll also need the many nutrients that canned fish provide when you are in high gear constantly and enduring physical and mental stress. Small canned fish like sardines and tuna have an abundance of zinc, vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin B12, iron, magnesium, selenium, potassium and countless other essential nutrients. This will have you performing at your best when every move counts.
While the shelf life might not be as long as some survival foods we discuss on this site like (pemmican) or (freeze dried foods), most canned fish have a best by date at least 3 years into the future. If you shop around you can certainly find some cans with a longer shelf life than that.
If we manage to go 2 and a half years without a calamitous situation arising, I will donate my cans of seafood to a homeless shelter and buy some new ones. With the cost being so affordable, it won’t break the bank if I have to do that. I can feel good about helping people in need as well.
Some Tips For Canned Fish In Your Prepping Strategy (H3 tag)
I have a tip for anyone into prepping who is on the fence about canned seafood. I know for some the thought of eating sardines just doesn’t seem doable. I get it, but we’re talking about survival here. My very helpful tip is to make sure you have some mustard on hand. It drowns out the flavor very effectively. I don’t know how well that would work for anchovies or tuna fish, but for sardines it works like a charm.
I find anchovies to be the most palatable canned fish, but they are very salty and have high levels of sodium. I would not eat anchovies if your water preps are not in check. You will definitely become dehydrated without adequate water consumption. They say that tuna has high levels of mercury. There’s no reason to doubt that, and you shouldn’t eat tuna every day. When you need food to survive though, some sacrifices are made. Canned seafood is cheap and it can sustain you.
Right now at Wally World you can get a tin of sardines for $1.29. The expiration dates aren’t as great as I’ve seen on other canned seafood products, but that is a really low price. Why not just throw a couple of them in your cart every time you buy some groceries? Every little bit counts and you’ll have enough in no time. You’re not going to be exclusively surviving on canned seafood, but it will provide you with a lot of security and an abundance of nutrients you’ll really need.
