Granola bars in your emergency supplies

What the date on the label means

• Foods that keep longer than 90 days, like canned goods, dry pasta and frozen food, don't need a best-before date.¹
• Best-before dates are about freshness, not safety. You can buy and eat food after the date, though quality may drop.¹
• Infant formula, meal replacements and similar products carry an expiration date; don't buy, sell or eat them once it has passed.¹

Store granola bars somewhere cool and dry, and check each pack for damage before you use it.

How much to store

SupKit estimates one granola bars (pack of 6) at about 720 calories, deliberately on the low side so stores aren't overestimated.² An adult needs around 2,250 calories a day in SupKit's planning figures.

Nobody should live on one food, so this table assumes granola bars make up a quarter of the food.

The calculator above changes the household, the days and the share of food.

Allergies, dietary needs and children

Plan around everyone at home: allergies, intolerances and diets come first, and familiar food matters most for children. Recipes vary between brands, so always read the label of the product you buy.

Typical allergens and diets are SupKit's guide to the main ingredient, not a product's label.

• Canada names 11 priority allergens: eggs, milk, mustard, peanuts, crustaceans and molluscs, fish, sesame, soy, sulphites, tree nuts, and wheat and triticale.³
• Packaged foods must declare priority allergens and gluten sources by plain source names in the ingredient list, a 'Contains' statement, or both.⁴
• Companies may add a 'May contain' warning for possible cross-contamination; it is not a substitute for good manufacturing practices.⁴

Young children

• Health Canada says peanuts and other nuts, seeds, popcorn and hard candies are not safe for children under four.⁵
• Never give any kind of honey to babies under one, including in food, water, formula or on a soother.⁶
• Prepare food for young children with little or no added salt or sugar.⁵