Okay, so I got back into my home in Alaska after over nine months away.

The refrigerator had died, and I waited a few days before opening the door and blasting the insides with misted Clorox.

The canned goods seem okay, alhough the tunafish tasted flat. The canned anchovies aren't bursting, but they are no longer 'tight'. I only keep them around for pizzas anyway.

I'm curious if I'm risking my life by cooking with any of the following:
white rice: tastes okay
brown rice: smells a bit off, it's at least a year and a half old.
white flour: it's dry and doesn't smell.

pinhead oatmeal: The bag of pinhead oatmeal smells a little off, as if there are oils in there that went a bit rancid.

I discovered some food I purchased whent I drove through New Mexico in 1986:

dried chiles - I'm pretty sure they're still good.
blue corn masa - I remember looking forward to trying to make tortillas with this, but I guess I forgot about it. It doesn't smell too bad, was kept from air and bugs okay.

so my overall guesstimate is that carbohydrates store okay, the white rice and flour, but any trace of fats or proteins not canned and heat treated are degraded. The question is, is it a matter of taste only or health as well?

Winging it in Alaska.