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Last updated February 17, 2010

How do I order dented cans to try your products?
Go to our shopping cart and order the canned meats, cheese or butter as usual Under SHIPPING INSTRUCTIONS, during checkout, put "Please fill order with dented cans," and add either "where possible" (if we can use undented cans to fill the order if we don't have dented), or "only" (if you don't want to pay normal can pricing).  Then place the order. The shopping cart does NOT automatically charge your card.  We do it manually and we will adjust the pricing for whatever dented cans are available at the time you order. (Please remember there is a maximum limit of 2 dented cans per product, when they're available.)
I calculated shipping and got ONE amount, but when I went to checkout got a higher amount.  Why?
There is a $2.75 handling charge added to any order to cover the cost of boxes, bubble wrap, peanuts and other miscellaneous costs.  We don't have a way--in our cart--to add that in, except as it appears in your cart checkout. If the amount is MORE than $2.75, please let us know so we can find out what's going on!
I just calculated shipping for a 300 lb order and it was WAY too high.  Why?
On August 27, 2006, we uploaded a NEW shopping cart which is pretty accurate at figuring shipping for orders UNDER 200 lbs.  Once your order reaches 200 lbs, you qualify for reduced shipping for products shipping from the SAME location (called hundredweight or CWT).  Unfortunately, UPS does not have realtime shipping rates for CWT shipments, so our cart can't figure them and it gets carried away.... Please ignore high shipping reported for CWT orders.  Your credit card is NOT charged until we review shipping costs.  You will be charged only ACTUAL shipping costs and we will email you the shipping total for your approval.  (Orders placed that are under 200 pounds will just be shipped.  No approval will be sought for them.) Our markup for BULK orders (dehydrated foods in bags, boxes or regular buckets/SuperPails) is so small that we need to charge you the credit card or PayPal fees.  If you can, please send a check or money order to avoid that charge. P.S. - With our new shopping cart, we'd appreciate your telling us of any problems you find with it (like missing banners, images, etc.)  Thanks!
I live close enough to you to drive to Dallas and pick up my food and save shipping costs . . .
This is without-a-doubt one of our our most frequently asked question. Grocery stores build into their pricing the cost of shipping product to them. It's easy for 'em. They don't ship anything anywhere else. They sell the groceries to the "locals". Our canneries dropship their products (for us) coast-to-coast, so shipping costs are always different, depending on how close you live to the cannery. We cannot build the cost of shipping into our pricing, without being unfair to some (who live nearby), and overly generous to others (who live far away). You're welcome to drive to Quinlan to pick up your food (if we have it in stock), but you'll still be charged what we were charged to have it shipped to us. Our suggestion is that you save the time, gasoline, trailer rental and wear-and-tear on your car, and have your order dropshipped directly to you. We don't have a storefront, just a warehouse, and we're not insured for people to "shop".  You have to place your order ahead-of-time and we'll get it ready for you to pick up. You may drive to the cannery to pick up your order, if you live close enough. Place it through us, and when it's ready to ship, we'll give you the O.K. to go get it. Then there will be no shipping charges.
What products do you stock in Quinlan that I can drive there to buy and save shipping costs?
Please go to http://www.internet-grocer.net/in-stock.htm for the list.  It's still wise to call and make sure the products you want are in stock.  We sometimes get "panic-buying" and run out of some items for a week or two.
My canned foods froze when my electricity went off.  Is it ruined?
Over a period of about a year I spent every available spare dollar collecting what amounted to 2 years' worth of reserve/emergency food supplies for my family.  This included a combination of freeze dried, dehydrated, canned, dry (flour, powdered milk, sugar, beans, rice, pasta etc.) and MRE's.  My storage "shed" was a refrigerated semi trailer because of the insulation properties that would make winter storage easy with a small heater to keep from freezing.  (I'm in the mountains of Montana.)   Alas, the power went out and when it came back on the heater did not restart.  I didn't know this had happened because I was 'away from home'.  Point of warning - the Edenpure heater is suppose to be super efficient, but you MUST be there to reset it if the power goes out.  The result was my stores freezing at -20 and then thawing in the spring.  By all accounts there shouldn't be a problem with food quality from this as long as none of the containers broke open from it.     Here's the catch and the question...I replaced the electric heater with a propane heater, and was home to stay for the winter this year.  Unfortunately I think I didn't provide enough ventilation for the heater, which used up all the oxygen, and it went out.  So after 3 days of a freak winter storm a couple of weeks ago, everything froze again!!  To the tune of -30.  The inside of the trailer looked like an arctic movie scene with frost buildup everywhere.  Do you suppose the food storage stuff is still OK?  My biggest concern would be the canned stuff, because I don't believe you can really hurt the dry stuff as long as the packages held their vaccuum.     P.S.  Your comments about the quality of your canned meats are spot on.  I've tried some of the others for comparison and hands down, I will be using yours from now on.   You're correct about the dry foods not being damaged by the freeze(s).   However, the wet-packed canned foods could be a real problem. As you probably know, when a can is sealed (seamed is the technical term) the metal on the edge of the lid is rolled together with the sidewall metal to form an airtight seal.   When water freezes, it expands and puts pressure on the seams. That pressure can create microscopic openings in the seams which allows bacteria into the cans.   The safest thing to do is to dispose of all wet-packed product that froze. (Meat items can be used for pet food.)   At some risk, you can start using them now after careful inspection of each can you open for discoloration and off-odors.   I think the risk is too great to just go on as though nothing happened.   Should something like this happen in the future--and you have enough freezer capacity--you can keep the wet-packed products frozen and use them can-by-can when needed.
There has been a mistake .... you charged me twice.
You haven't been charged twice. One of two things happened: 1. We adjusted your shipping charge (check for the SAME order number on your order. The TOTAL will be different), or 2. Our system does a pre-authorization (which reserves the funds) and a post-authorization (which obtains the funds).  This shows up temporarily on your online statement twice.  But, your actual credit card statement will show only the one charge.
Does your food include GM (genetically modified) food?  Does it include added ingredients such as MSG?  How long does the food last unopened?
The TVPs contain GMO soybean product (which is nearly impossible to find non-GMO). None of our other dehydrated products contain MSG. (But, you've got to ask yourself, "if MSG is so bad for health and longevity, why have the Chinese become the most populous people on Earth, when they LOAD their foods with MSG?"  MSG is a naturally-occurring ingredient in many foods. "Artificial" MSG is brewed the same way beer is brewed, and is no more harmful.)  Please see "Does your food contain MSG?" further down this page. But, even if we're wrong about this, the foods we sell are for SURVIVAL.  If you're in an eat-or-starve situation, do you really think you'll eat only non-GMO foods?? (You've got to separate, in your mind, a normal, health-related lifestyle from a survival lifestyle. Are you planning to starve-to-death perfectly healthy??) In light of the information we found at http://www.internet-grocer.net/how-long.htm these foods will last over 100 years.
Do you ship products to foreign countries?  If so, which ones, how and how do I pay?
We ship to any country EXCEPT those in Africa.  (Sorry, guys, but until you get your spammers and cheats under control, you'll get nothing from us. And please stop notifying me of the "millions of dollars" you want to transfer to me....) Shipping will usually be via United States Postal Service, unless you request--and are willing to pay the additional cost for--another shipping method or carrier. Payment for orders outside the United States or Canada must be either by Bank Check or by Wire Transfer. We do NOT accept credit cards from any country other than the USA or Canada. (There are some cases when we will accept credit cards from the UK, Australia or New Zealand, if we can verify you're genuine, but we have to pass along the surcharge the bank charges us, so your foreign credit card fee will be higher.)
How long will these canned foods store?
While we cannot guarantee these canned foods will last this long, you really should read about the canned food taken to the Arctic in 1820 . . . and opened in 1938, and found still to be edible.  That's after 118 years with a can produced when canning technology was about 10 years old! I know you're busy and have no spare time (the average time people spend on our website is 3 1/2 minutes), but you really owe it to yourself to read this page.
Shipping Rates??
Hi. I can't find your page with shipping rates.  I'm not going to enter in all my personal information before I even know your shipping rates. And, BTW, I'm not alone:  a lot of people find it pretty sketchy when they can't find shipping prices on a website without entering personal data.  Please email me and let me know! Thanks, Ellen Ellen, There's no way we can provide shipping rates.  We have 1,430+ items on our website.  They vary in weight GREATLY. Historically, shipping runs *about* 20% of an order, but that may not be true with YOUR order ... that's the history for 18 months for all orders. You can use our shopping cart to put in your prospective order, and use SEND CHECK as your payment option.  You do NOT have to use your REAL personal information.  Only your ZIP Code and an email address has to be correct.  (You can even create a throw-away Google email address to protect your privacy, if you're that concerned about privacy.  We *don't* spam and we don't share your email address with anyone. You won't even get further emails from us, unless you subscribe to our newsletter.) I also suggest that you read our entire FAQ Page.  It's a real eye-opener. Bruce
Do you offer an Affiliate Program?
We are working at developing an Affiliate Program in which you can promote our products and make money for the sales you generate for our dehydrated and freeze dried foods.  Part of our problem is that, on some items (like Bulk and Bucketized foods), our markup is so small that we can't share it with you without us losing money on the sale. However, you CAN make money right now selling our incredible Real Handmade Beef Jerky. Remarkably, the amount you can earn can be as much as $3,000 per month!  It does take some work, but your cash outlay can be as low as $12 per month (and that gets you 1/2 pound of Real Beef Jerky each month).  Know anybody who eats??  If so, click here.
What are your hours
We begin answering the phone at 9:00 a.m. and stop answering it at 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Central time. We have been quite busy lately, and there's a good chance you'll get voicemail. If so, please leave your name and phone number so we can call you back. If you're calling for shipping quote, you can place a "test" order in our new shopping cart, if your order is under 200 lbs in weight.
I've emailed you twice and you never answered
Your email return header does not contain a valid email reply address. We answer all emails that contain a valid REPLY address. We TRY to look for and then copy and paste email addresses from the body of your message, but we might overlook it. If you're shielding yourself from "spam" email by putting a bogus "Reply To" address in your header info, you may never get a reply from us.
Your prices are lower than others'. Is your food quality inferior?
The "inferior food" story is propagated by those who have to charge more for their food because of their food distribution system, because of greedy companies or because of greedy "master distributors". The "dirty little secret" in this industry is that there are only 3 major dehydrators in the country and everybody buys their food from the same places, so *quality* is not an issue, though the high-priced companies try to make it so. (How else are they going to justify their pricing??) We know of one highly overpriced company who sold the exact same foods that we do, but gave them fancier names. For example, our "Diced Potatoes" were their "Select Idaho Diced Potatoes". It's called "selling the sizzle" (and, indeed, they were former used car salesmen, and "sold the sizzle" with a vengeance!). They ultimately went out of business, but many customers fell for that baloney and paid 1.5x to 2x more for their storable food. Our goal is to get as many people fed as inexpensively as possible. Your order is drop-shipped directly to you from the cannery, not double shipped and double handled. Consumers frequently fall for the "sizzle" and spend more for the exact same steak.... Lastly, our price for a One Year Supply for Four is what many companies are charging to feed ONE person for a year. You've just gotta decide how you want to spend your money.
I don't understand your price list. How does it work?
Pricing works like this: (Dehydrated Foods) Hard Red Wheat ... 12.00/48 (W007) means a pail of wheat costs $18.00 and weighs 48 lbs shipping weight. The product code is W007. The left column is individual #10 cans, the middle column is a case of 6 #10 cans and right column is SuperPails (6 gallon buckets of product). Bulk items are on their own page. We tried (I guess unsuccessfully) to describe this in the column header.
Does your food contain MSG?
Actually, the proper question is, "Do you add MSG to your foods?" because a lot of foods contain naturally-occuring MSG. (Anyone who tells you their food contains no MSG is either ignorant or lying.) But, to answer your question, yes, we add MSG to some of our mixes. It's one reason they taste so good! (MSG also goes by the name "hydrolyzed vegetable protein" or HVP.) Many today mistakenly believe that they're allergic to monosodium glutamate (MSG). It was one of the "health fads" that roared through in the '70s with which we Americans are so enamored. (Every year it's something else that, "if we eat it . . . or don't eat it", we'll be healed and live forever.) Here are the facts: If you can eat eggs, potatoes, corn, tomatoes, broccoli, peas, mushrooms, walnuts or Parmesan cheese, you can eat MSG. All those foods are loaded with naturally-occuring MSG. The crystalline MSG used as a flavor-enhancer is produced by a natural fermentation process, very similar to the way beer is made. It's not made from chemicals in a lab. Your body—and even chemical analysis—cannot distinquish "man-made" MSG from naturally-occuring MSG. The human body produces about 50 grams of glutamate daily. Your brain can't function without it. Furthermore, double-blind tests performed on people who claimed to have food reactions to MSG, showed they had those same reactions when given a sugar pill (placebo). Every test. The so-called "Chinese Food Syndrome" just doesn't exist. Those people have a reaction to something besides MSG. I invite you to visit The Glutamate Association and learn the facts. If that doesn't convince you, go to a food allergist and have a double-blind test done. Then, go try the food at any China Garden in Georgia. It's fabulous!
What are the different can sizes?
A #2.5 can ("number two and a half size") is slightly less than a quart in size. A #10 can ("number ten"; not "10 pounds") is slightly less than a gallon in size. It's the food industry standard size and is the same size can that coffee is sold in. Our SuperPail is a 6 gallon plastic bucket containing food in a Mylar bag from which 99.9% of the oxygen has been removed. (Some companies sell only 5 gallon buckets of food, so watch pricing and check them out.) Mylar is "plastic coated" aluminum foil which is light-, air- and moisture-proof.
Please describe shipping and the hundredweight savings.
One bucket of wheat to Northern CA (we need to have zip code to be accurate) would cost more than the cost of the wheat.  If you buy 5 buckets, you reach the UPS hundredweight chart (CWT) and the shipping would cost (240 lbs = 2.40 x $Hundredweight Rate =) $??. (Add $2.75 handling to any size order.) Please call us for your CWT charges. With the cost of fuel these days, we can no longer publish a rate.
Will we be notified by the carrier prior to shipment so we can arrange a time to meet the truck when       it arrives?
You should receive either a phone call or postcard from the shipping terminal advising you your shipment is there. You then arrange with them for delivery. Note, though, that UPS and FedEx will NOT give you advance notification of delivery. You will need to use the tracking number we provide to get an idea of when a UPS or FedEx order will arrive.
Will the driver bring the food/shipment inside for us?
Yes. It will cost you an additional $60.00 to $100.00 or more (called an Inside Delivery Charge) for him to do it, but it can be arranged. Please understand, it is not a free service, and you will be charged for it.
Bulk Freeze-Dried Food vs. Dehydrated Food
"I don't quite understand how much you get in some of the bulk freeze dried foods or the total cost. I did see the price per pound. Using the green beans for example, if they are priced at $16.25 and come in a 15 to 25 pound case. I assume that a 15 pound case of those would then cost $243.75 assuming that they come in a 15 pound case and not a 25 pound case. How long would a typical case last if you had normal servings of these three times a week?"   Your pricing method is correct. However, unless you have a particular need for freeze dried veggies, you'll save a *ton* of money buying dehydrated instead. To answer your question, you get about 20-24 servings per pound of FD green beans for the $16.25. (Dehydrated green beans, on the other hand, yield about 32 servings per pound and cost $8.23). In our opinion, you're throwing money away buying FD vegetables when dehydrated are available. We suggest buying FD products only for the meats/entrees available, and buying dehydrated vegetables, etc., to round out your meals.
When do you charge my credit card, when you receive my order or when it ships?
We charge your card when your order is ready to ship from the cannery.
I want to verify pricing on your site . . .
No need. The pricing is correct on our shopping cart.  Pricing has been changing so quickly lately, that it's impossible to keep up with on our web pages and literature.
What is the difference between Egg Mix and Whole Eggs, between Nonfat Dry Milk and Instant Milk?
Egg Mix has such ingredients as milk or whey, vegetable oil and salt, so that it makes a better, more realistic, scrambled egg. (Cooked properly, it is difficult to tell you're not eating fresh eggs that have been scrambled.) Instant Milk undergoes a "crystallizing" process so that it mixes faster with water. (Don't ask me about the technicals. I don't know.) The down side is that the yield-per-can is reduced. In other words, while it takes a little longer to mix the "regular" milk with water, you get quite a bit more milk out of a can. So, like so much else in America today, you pay extra for the convenience of fast mixing. (Phyllis is a former restaurant manager ... she likes the taste of the regular milk better. I can't tell the difference. We have had some reports, and our experience is, that the regular milk lasts longer in the 'fridge.)
Does DE kill adult worms in horses? . . .
. . . or does it only kill the eggs? (That a horse might ingest). How long does a horse have to be fed DE before it becomes effective. The reason I am asking is I have two horses that have been getting DE for about 7 weeks. I just had a fecal egg count done and one horse has evidence of strongyle eggs and the other has tapeworm eggs. I have not used a chemical wormer since late last September . . . I am having trouble finding detailed literature on DE. I don't know if there have ever been test studies comparing horses on DE and horses on wormer pastes.   There is debate as to whether DE will act as an internal parasite killer. Some say Yes and others say No. In the external world, there IS evidence that, when DE gets wet, its effect on insects is reduced. By implication, then, the internal cleansing of parasites would not be very effective since the DE has to get "wet" to travel through an animal (or person). However, there is ALSO well-documented evidence that DE kills fly maggots in manure patties . . . and DE gets wet in THERE. Since DE is such an inexpensive insect/parasite control solution, there is little or no interest shown by chemical companies running tests to determine DE's efficiency in controlling internal parasites. (If they showed it worked, who would buy their chemicals?) One other thing: DE has no effect on earthworms. Because of that, I wonder if fully-developed tapeworms would also not be affected. I don't have the answer to that. One thing that would be important is the "dosage." Were you feeding your horses DE at a rate of 2% by volume of feed? That seems to be the amount needed for beneficial results. Lastly, did you buy the DE from us (I can't locate a record of your purchase.) It's CRITICAL that you use Food Grade DE like we sell.
I want to add the following items to my order . . . .
Unfortunately, that causes great confusion at the cannery and opens your order to errors. Please think your order through the first time around. Any additions must be treated as a new order.
I ordered various cans of Freeze Dried products from you and received only a case of Chicken a la       King.
We re-use boxes whenever we can and your order is in that box. Please, before you call, open your boxes to see what you've received. Thanks.
What is a flaker? Will it make rolled oats from oat groats?
There are (basically) 3 ways to "prepare" grain: Mill it, flake it or roll it. Milling crushes the grain into "powder" (flour). Rolling flattens it, like the old wringer washers used to do to clothes. The flaker "shaves" the grain into thin "strips". Don't confuse this with Kellogg's Corn Flakes or Wheaties, etc. Those are cooked (recipe) products. True flaked grain makes a *great* fresh cereal (toast it in oven for 7-8 minutes), can be used as a topping for kneaded bread dough (added nutrition and great crunch), in other baked goods for texture and added nutrition, as a meat extender, etc. The flaker will not roll oats, just as a fryer will not bake a potato.
What is your policy on product damaged in shipment?
For truck/freight/common carrier shipments, shipping damage MUST be notated on delivery ticket at the time of delivery (specifying the number of cases damaged) and MUST be reported to us within 48 hours of receipt of shipment (stating which products were damaged) in order for goods to be replaced. UPS shipping damage MUST be reported to UPS within 2 days and a damage claim made. If these things are not done, product cannot be replaced. PLEASE NOTE that we MAY require that damaged products be returned to us at your expense before we replace them.
There are dented cans in my shipment.
(This is not-so-frequently-asked, but in case it comes up . . .) Hopefully, you followed the instructions in the answer to the previous question. As to the dented cans, that may or may not be a problem. If you noted it on the delivery ticket and reported it in time, the shipper will have to make good, and the cannery will re-ship. If you didn't note it on the ticket, open the can and re-pack the contents into glass jars. Keep the food dry and it will still last over a year. You can tell if the seam has been broken by sight and smell. Is there any powder in the bottom of the case? If so, the seam has likely been broken (could also be from the cannery). Smell along the seam of the dented can. You'll smell the contents if the seam has been broken. I regularly accept dented shipments using those tests. As long as a can opener will work on one or the other end of the can, I'm happy. We've been trained from childhood not to buy dented cans from the supermarket. Wet-packed foods are dangerous if the interior enamel is broken. Not so with dehydrated, as long as the seams are intact (and you can open the can). I have, right now, in our food storage, cans of Buckwheat Pancake Mix that are swollen. The ends of the cans are actually bowed out. The reason for it is that, during shipment, a temperature change caused the little moisture that was in the air to react with the leavening in the mix and made carbon dioxide. The increased interior pressure swelled the ends of the cans. I shook a can to make sure the mix was not near where I started the can opener, so the pressure wouldn't spray pancake mix all over the kitchen. Phyllis fixed Buckwheat Pancakes for us and they were great! No one died, nor even got sick. I wouldn't dream of doing that with a wet-packed product! It'd kill us. But germs can't multiply in dehydrated food. They need water to multiply and become a killing/sickening force. Dehydrated foods are a "whole different ballgame" from wet-packed, grocery-store-bought foods. Americans are just not used to using and dealing with them. (At this point, I know somebody out there is thinking we're just trying to weasel out of replacing product. NOT SO!  If you're afraid of a severe dent or a swollen can, the cannery will replace it, if you notify us in a timely manner. You need to be aware of the facts in case the time does come when we won't be able to replace product. We'll replace it as long as we're able to. You will likely be asked to return the defective product, so don't discard it.) Over the years, we've had people return "severly damaged" cans (as they described them on the phone), and when we got them back, there was a minor dent in the can that had no effect on the contents nor on the ability to open the can. It's our American upbringing. Let us know what you want replaced. The cannery (and shipping company) will take care of it. (The shipping company *may* want to inspect and take possession of the damaged goods, so please be ready to provide it to them. Do not throw away any of the packaging the product came in.)
What is Your Order Cancellation Policy?
We haven't had an order cancelled since 1999, but if you really feel the urge.... There is a 15% order cancellation fee that applies to orders cancelled BEFORE product ships.  If product has already shipped, you are also responsible for all shipping charges (to you, and back).  If it were me, I'd leave the order intact.....
Payment Accepted for Shipping to Canada?
We can accept credit cards and Money Orders from Canada.  Please NO personal checks because of the exchange rates.  They fluctuate.
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