Best tinned food for emergencies in a UK household (2026)

Before you buy

Think about which tins you'd eat cold. A power cut can take out the hob and the microwave, which is why the Prepare campaign asks for food that doesn't need cooking. The Food Standards Agency says many canned foods intended to be heated before eating will not pose a safety risk if eaten cold, but that this depends on the product, and to always follow the manufacturer's instructions. So the Eat cold column says Yes only where a tin needs no heating: John West says its sardines can be eaten straight from the tin, Ambrosia says its Deluxe rice is good hot or cold, Del Monte's Amazon listing says to open the can and enjoy, and the tuna's label has no heating step at all. The rest come with heating directions from their makers. If you do heat food in a power cut, use a camping stove outdoors: the NHS says never to use one indoors or in a tent.

Keep a tin opener with the tins. Prepare adds one in brackets to its food line, and the British Red Cross says to include one in an emergency kit. Make it a manual opener, because an electric one stops when the power does. Ring-pull lids help, but don't plan around them.

Tins like these carry a best-before date rather than a use-by date. Official food-labelling guidance on GOV.UK says a best-before date is about quality: after it, food is usually safe to eat but may not be of the same quality. Use-by dates are the safety line, used on foods that go off quickly, such as meat products and ready-to-eat salads. The FSA adds that how long a tin stays acceptable after its best-before date depends on the product, how it has been stored and the brand. None of the tins here has a shelf life in years on its maker's product page or listing, so check the date on each can when it arrives.

Rotation is what keeps a tinned store cheap. Buy a few extra of the tins you already eat with each shop, put new ones at the back, eat from the front, and check the dates as you go. Store them the way the labels ask (several of the tins here say a cool, dry place) and the way Food Standards Scotland advises for a cupboard: dry and not too warm, with food off the floor and away from cleaning products.

Check tins when they arrive and whenever you rotate them. The FSA says food should stay fit to eat if a dent is shallow and the can shows no other damage, but a deep dent can hide a split, a hole or a broken seal, and if a dent has caused rust the food should not be eaten. Don't eat from a visibly bulging can: take it back to the retailer. Once a tin is open, don't keep leftovers in it; the FSA says to empty them into a bowl or container and put it in the fridge.

Tins can be salty, and eating from them for a few days adds up. The NHS says adults should have no more than 6g of salt a day, and counts a food as high in salt above 1.5g per 100g and high in sugar above 22.5g of total sugars per 100g. It suggests tinned vegetables, pulses and fish in water rather than brine, and tinned fruit in natural juice or water with no added sugar or salt, which is why our tuna pick is in spring water and our fruit pick is in juice.

If anyone at home has a food allergy, read each tin's label, even for brands you know. Prepacked food must show any of the 14 main allergens in its ingredients list, emphasised, for example in bold, italics or a different colour. 'May contain' warnings are voluntary, so a tin without one is no guarantee, and a vegan label doesn't guarantee a food is free from a particular allergen. Here, the sardines and the tuna are fish, the soup and the rice pudding contain milk, and the stew contains wheat and barley. Makers do change recipes, so check again when you restock.