I’m repeating this guy’s experiment. Same brand, same “best before” date of Dec. 2006. My instant mashed potatoes were stored in the garage for the last 6+ years, and our garage gets to 100 degrees-plus every summer.
Only difference I see upon opening is that the mix has turned a faint brown from its original white color years ago. Smells fine.
Tastes fine, too!
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Have you thought about taking measures to moderate the heat out there? My first Summer in my house I found rapidly rising temps to be the fault of insufficient ventilation (which was noted as an issue in my pre-purchase inspection). After suffering 100+ temps working out there it didn’t take long for me to put in two vents, one front and one rear. Since then there are only a few days of the hottest part of Summer where the attic vent I installed kicks on, (set to 105 degrees), and it’s at the apex of the garage 15 feet above the floor. Down at ground level I never get up to 100 anymore. The attic fan was around $80 (and as it turns out, unnecessary), but the vents were less than $10 each and super easy to install.
We’ve got an attic fan — in the attic. It works great, but the firewall between the attic and the garage means the garage can be an oven at times. OTOH, there are enough other code violations in this 1968-built house that knocking a hole in the firewall and putting in a critter-proof screen would probably be the easiest option, and no less safe than some other “features” I’ve found.
I’m gonna be popping the roof up at least five feet at some point in the near future (clerestory windows and cathedral ceilings ftw) and always figured on installing some vents then — but no reason I couldn’t do that now.
I just finished a bag of World Kitchens Traditional beef jerky that was an ’06 “best-by” date. It was a little drier than usual, but had good taste. Remember that such dates on edibles are all put there by lawyers to prevent liability lawsuits, just like the reloading manuals have gotten powder loads “dumbed down” over the years.