Thread title should be self-explanatory.

Thanks for any tips and info!!

It has been a while since I have bought MREs but this is the site I used. You can either buy full cases or make your own by buying individual meals. I like they let you know the year it was produced. https://theepicenter.com/mre-meals-ready-to-eat.html

MRE thread from last year that I saved, https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...935/m/5430086664/p/1

Mrs Q and I have also been talking recently about buying MREs, considering the time.

https://mremountain.com/

I’ve had good luck here.

I see Amazon has them. You have to be careful of the inspection date. Most say they're best within 3-5 years off that date. If you want them for camping or just the occasional power outage, etc, they should be fine. Just keep them rotated.

If you're prepping, or for emergencies lasting longer than just a few days, #10 cans of freeze dried entrees, fruit, and vegetables would be a whole lot cheaper option & they have a 25+ year shelf life.

You can get freeze dried food from several places, Mountain House being probably the most famous. I got our SHTF supply from here about 10 years ago:
https://www.thereadystore.com

Realistically what is the real shelf life? How old would you throw them away? I have some old ones and I’m tempted to open one to try one out.

They are really high calorie as you would expect. Some are much better than others.

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
Realistically what is the real shelf life? How old would you throw them away? I have some old ones and I’m tempted to open one to try one out.

I think it depends on the temp that they're stored at. At 75 deg they'll last around 5 years. At colder temps, over 10 years.

Completely different, but when I was in the Marines in 66-70, we used to have contests on who got the oldest C-Rations. Almost all were from the pre-Korean War era.

I have purchased some stuff from QuakeKare. Better than MREs for an emergency survival situation, if you're having to tote them, in my opinion. Very dense, high calorie stuff. Tastes decent too. MREs are tastier, but I almost always strip them and ditch the stuff I don't care for, in an effort to save space and weight. All depends on your application, of course.

Just remember, when consuming anything preserved, such as freeze dried foods or, shelf-stable packaged foods like MRE's, you need to drink a LOT of water and you need to eat some roughage to get things through. Freeze dried foods and MRE's have a high amout of salt. Part of this is to help things keep but, also, they're designed for somebody who's exerting themselves quite a bit so, its fortified to with a lot of minerals and provide high amount of calories. Nothing worse than eating MRE's for a week and you've only gone once in that time...

Secondarily, because of the amount of preservatives in them, it'll highly advised you also consume foods that will not constipate or, back you up: nuts, dried fruit, fresh veg/fruit if you're able to. There's a sea change within the survival communities, whereas there was an overwhelming focus on just stockpiling of shelf-stable food stuffs and tools, today, that accumulation needs to be balanced with developing the skill-sets to growing your own food and learning the various aspects of home canning/preserving.

Really appreciate all the tips and guidance!!

jvb

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
Realistically what is the real shelf life? How old would you throw them away? I have some old ones and I’m tempted to open one to try one out.

Don't. In 1984, when MREs first came out and were suppose to last forever, my unit found out the hard way they don't. 24 of us with severe food poisoning. I was so dehydrated that I passed out in the field training exercise. Water was going through me without changing color and coming out of the wrong holes. I spent 3 days in the hospital and it took over three 1 liter IVs going into me before any fluid came out the normal way. I was so out of it, I had a gorgeous nurse (I mean guys walking into walls when she walked down the hall beautiful) give me a sponge bath......and I couldn't even enjoy it.

Really missed the old c-rations aka Meal, Combat, Individual. An old Master Sergeant who retired gave me his c-ration cookbook and spice set up for eating good in the field.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: jsbcody,

Don't experiment with MREs of long ago; catch this guy on YouTube and observe.

https://www.youtube.com/channe...6Et1JkidnnbWgJFiMeHA

And yes, they have improved significantly over the past 35 years (to include dried fruits and nuts to help keep the lower digestive tract working); but still best advice is after three years of storage, begin pulling one about every six months to see if they're getting rancid. Five to six years max, unless refrigerated. Not familiar with it, but there should be an Army manual or instruction on how long they can be kept at X temperature.

Never get the Four Fingers of Death one from long ago (beef frankfurters).

The wife and I bought a bunch of Augason Farms meals. About 9 months worth (about 2100 cals / day each). We also bought some water purification equipment (mostly Life Straw). Just for grins we lived off of the stuff for about two weeks to test it out before purchasing a lot of it. Not bad but slightly pricey. It's not gourmet by any means but it beats the hell out of eating grass and insects. YMMV, try before buying.

Yup; grew up in part canoeing in the Ontario lake county eating mountain house … just bought a bit for margin/earthquakes. Plenty of dihydrogen monoxide around …

quote:

Originally posted by rat2306:
Don't experiment with MREs of long ago; catch this guy on YouTube and observe.

https://www.youtube.com/channe...6Et1JkidnnbWgJFiMeHA

And yes, they have improved significantly over the past 35 years (to include dried fruits and nuts to help keep the lower digestive tract working); but still best advice is after three years of storage, begin pulling one about every six months to see if they're getting rancid. Five to six years max, unless refrigerated. Not familiar with it, but there should be an Army manual or instruction on how long they can be kept at X temperature.

Never get the Four Fingers of Death one from long ago (beef frankfurters).

You beat me to it. Was going to suggest watching some MREsteve. We store freeze dried food, rice and beans, MRE’s, etc in food grade 5 gallon buckets with sealed food grade screw on and off lids in cool areas. I’d suggest keeping the old MRE’s in case things get really bad. Some can last quite a long time. Even if only parts of the MRE something is better than nothing. MRE’s are high carb content and there’s a reason we affectionately called them MRE-Meals Refusing to Exit.