IIRC 4.X will have nested storage, and food in 4.X will rot.
Here’s my own idea, on how packaged food could work.
Food with sealed packaging would not rot, but would not be edible either. The food would have to be opened, maybe done in the inventory, crafting menu, or by equipping it and clicking, not sure which would work best. Once the food is opened, it would be replaced by a container with food nested inside, which would decay as food normally would, although the types of food found in packaging might not spoil as quickly as others.
I will use a can of beans as an example.
The can of beans does not rot, but is not useful to the player. I have thought of three ways the player could turn the can into something useful:
A. It needs to be equipped. In this method the player would need to equip the can of beans, then ‘Use’ it starting a short animation of the player popping the top open.
B. It is opened in the player’s inventory. In this method the player might do something like stripping attachments off weapons in 3.X.
C. It needs to be crafted. In this method the player would craft the can of beans, maybe with a knife or can opener.
No matter which method(s) is/are implemented, the player would receive a can, which contains preserved beans, (each bean would not be an individual item, maybe they would be measured by volume.) Preserved beans would spoil slower than fresh, or baked beans, but might not be as filling, (Maybe they would provide less hydration, since canned foods often have higher sodium?)