Germany is developing an app to help people locate the nearest bunker in the event of attack. Sweden is distributing a 32-page pamphlet titled If Crisis or War Comes. Half a million Finns have already downloaded an emergency preparedness guide.
If the prospect of a broader conflict in Europe seems remote for many, some countries at least are taking it seriously – and, in the term used by Germany’s defence minister, Boris Pistorius, taking steps to get populations kriegsfähig: war-capable.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has dramatically raised security tensions across the Baltic region, prompting Finland and Sweden to abandon decades of nonalignment and join Nato. Military capability, however, is not all: citizens have to be braced too.
Dates on foodstuffs are generally “use by” dates, which means that the manufacturer says it will be up to their quality standards to that date. After that, the taste may be off, but generally speaking, if it doesn’t have mold growing on it and it doesn’t smell funny, it’s very unlikely to do you any harm.
Canned and jarred foods are sealed in the can, and then brought up to a high temperature for a sufficient period of time to kill any pathogens inside. If a can is bulging, it is indicative of pathogen growth. Avoid cans which are rusty.