Question: what is agood way to store food if you were on a desert island and if it did go off could you somehow make it edibal to eat?

Grant Campbell answered on 12 Mar 2013:

There are a number of ways to avoid bacteria growing and causing food to spoil. Broadly they are:
– use heat to kill off the bacteria
– keep the food too cold for the bacteria to grow
– take away the water that bacteria need to grow (by drying the food or by adding lots of salt or sugar, as these steal water away from the bacteria)
– put something in that stops bacteria growing (like alcohol or acid)

I’m sure you can think of examples of foods that uses these different approaches to preserve the food.

On a desert island, keeping the food dry is probably the easiest way to preserve it. If you planned to be on the desert island and were able to prepare in advance, taking cans of food is probably best (food in cans in heated to kill off the bacteria, and after that it can be stored for a long time).

Once food has gone off, it’s unlikely you could make it edible again.

Hope this helps if you’re ever stuck on a desert island!