What to store
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Ready-to-eat canned goods | Legumes, tuna, canned ready meals, vegetables. |
| Dry, no cooking needed | Dry biscuits, dried fruit, cereal bars, long-life toasted bread. |
| Drinks | Long-life juice, in addition to water. |
| Comfort | Instant coffee or tea, sugar, chocolate: morale matters too. |
The common thread: none of this needs a hob or an oven, useful if electricity and gas are both unavailable.
The rolling-stock method
Rather than an isolated survival box in a cupboard, the most durable method is to fold the reserve into the household's normal life:
Choose products already eaten
The cans and biscuits the family eats anyway, not products bought purely "for the stock".
Put new purchases behind
Older products go to the front, to be eaten first (first-in, first-out method).
Restock after use
Each item consumed is repurchased on the next shopping trip, so the reserve level stays stable.
Use-by and best-before: what to really watch
According to the Ministry of the Economy, two dates coexist on packaging, with very different consequences.
| Label | What it means |
|---|---|
| Use-by date | Safety deadline, on fresh products. Not to be exceeded. |
| Best-before date | Quality date, on dry, canned or dehydrated products. The product generally remains edible after, with a gradual loss of taste or texture. |
Most food-reserve products (canned goods, dry biscuits, pasta) fall under the best-before date, not the use-by date. One point of vigilance remains useful for cans: a bulging, dented or leaking can should always be thrown out unopened, regardless of the date shown.
Baby, special diet
The official list doesn't cover specific needs:
- Infant: infant formula and baby food for three days, plus the water needed for bottles (see our guide on the water reserve).
- Allergy or medical diet: duplicate what the person already eats daily, in a long-life version if possible.
Mistakes to avoid
- Buying products you don't like, just because they keep a long time: they'll never be eaten, and never renewed either.
- Stacking without rotating. A forgotten stock becomes an expired stock.
- Throwing out a can as a precaution right after its best-before date. Unless the can is damaged, this generally isn't necessary.
- Not having a manual can opener. Without electricity, an electric can opener is useless.
An up-to-date inventory, without thinking about it
LASTLINE can help you rotate your reserve rather than forgetting it:
- scan a product's barcode to add it to your inventory;
- see your self-sufficiency in days for food, updated as you add items;
- get a reminder before a date approaches, to consume before rather than throw out.
LASTLINE doesn't automatically distinguish use-by from best-before on the scanned packaging: check the date shown on the product.
Track my reserve with LASTLINEFrequently asked questions
What foods should be stored for an emergency?
Non-perishable foods requiring no cooking, per the official « Tous responsables » guide: canned goods, dry biscuits, dried fruit, cereal bars, ready-to-eat canned meals. The idea is to store what the household already eats, so it can be rotated without waste.
What's the difference between use-by and best-before dates?
The use-by date concerns fresh products and carries a real health risk after the date: it must not be exceeded. The best-before date concerns dry or canned products: after this date, the product may lose taste quality without being dangerous.
How do you rotate your reserve without waste?
By incorporating the reserve's products into the household's normal meals, and replacing them as you go: this is the rolling-stock method, rather than a separate survival stock, never used until the day it's expired.
Sources
- SGDSN, Guide « Tous responsables: face aux risques, agissons », November 2025.
- Ministry of the Economy, Use-by and best-before dates: what's the difference?
- ANSES, Use-by date and best-before date.