Porridge oats in your emergency supplies

What the date on the label means

• Use-by is a safety date: food can't be sold after it. Best-before is about quality: food can still be sold if fit to eat.¹
• Foods that keep for two years or more, such as some canned foods, don't need a best-before date.¹

Store porridge oats somewhere cool and dry, and check each bag for damage before you use it.

How much to store

SupKit estimates one porridge oats 1kg at about 15,690 kJ (3,750 Cal), deliberately on the low side so stores aren't overestimated.² An adult needs around 9,414 kJ (2,250 Cal) a day in SupKit's planning figures.

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

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

When to start using them

At everyday pace, two adults get through 3 bags of porridge oats in about 10 weeks, so SupKit starts suggesting them about 12 weeks before the date.³

Eating your reserve in everyday meals and replacing it as you go keeps it fresh, so nothing ends up in the bin.

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.

• Under the joint Australia New Zealand code, labels must declare wheat, fish, shellfish, egg, milk, lupin, peanut, soy, sesame, named tree nuts, gluten cereals and added sulphites.⁴
• Allergens must be in bold in the ingredient list, plus a separate bold summary starting with 'Contains' near the ingredients.⁴
• 'May contain' statements are voluntary and not regulated by the Food Standards Code.⁴

Young children

• Avoid giving honey to babies under 12 months because it can cause infant botulism.⁵