Shelf Life

Tanjajean · Post by **Tanjajean** » Mon May 12, 2008 11:11 pm

Hi...I am hoping someone can answer my question. I work for an agency that houses homeless families and singles. We recently received a grant to put together disaster sheds with supplies. We have received MRE's from our local food bank. On the box it says they were packaged in 2004. There is not an experation date on the box or on the MRE's. From the reading I have been doing on line they can have up to a 10 year shelf life but it depends on how they have been stored (heat and cold). I also read online that the box could have an indicator on it if it has been exposed to extereme heat or cold and if there is damage to the MRE's but our boxes do not have these indicators.

Is it safe to say I have at least 4 or 5 more years left on these MRE's?

Any help on this would be apperciated...thank you

dirtbag · Post by **dirtbag** » Mon May 12, 2008 11:32 pm

Hi,
They could be already expired, or last another six years. It all depends on how they were stored.
http://www.mreinfo.com/us/mre/mre-longevity.html
as the chart indicates, the cooler the better for storage. I'd guess you'll have to open a few, every now and then, to see if they're still good...
I'd have to say, that given reasonable storage, they seem to last much longer than predicted. given the military method of testing, then derating by 50%, they could possibly last for 20 years.
there will be changes in color and maybe textures over time, but still be quite edible. It should also be noted that even with new MRE's, it's not wise to actually look at the food, just close your eyes and enjoy !!!

Tanjajean · Post by **Tanjajean** » Tue May 13, 2008 12:02 am

Thanks for the quick reply and the link...just what I needed to know

jfko6 · Post by **jfko6** » Tue May 13, 2008 6:38 am

Tanjajean:

What type of MRE's will you be storing and for how long?
How will they be used?

-JFK

Post by **kman** » Tue May 13, 2008 8:23 am

Tanjajean, MREs don't really "expire"...as in "go bad", but they do become a little less appetizing in terms of appearance and if they've been stored in high-temp conditions (or medium temp for longer times), then some of the parts could become less appealing faster.

If you have MREs from 2004, then their next "inspection date", the date when you should sample some of the MREs to see if they're still good, would be in 2007. If the MREs are still good, they usually add one more year onto the inspection date.

Personally, I'd say seven years is about the longest you want to keep MREs around for use during emergencies. They'd probably last longer but you have to ask yourself if you really want to rely on emergency food supplies that are that old.

Tanjajean · Post by **Tanjajean** » Tue May 13, 2008 2:31 pm

Thank you for your response. I have another question. Isent the information I have received from post and from this website and by boss wanted to know if it depends where the MRE's come from or is this information I am receiving across the board for all MRE's regardless from where they come from.

Thank you!!

Post by **kman** » Tue May 13, 2008 4:08 pm

It kind of depends on what you mean by "where they come from". If you're talking about military MREs, it doesn't really matter if they're produced by Sopakco, Wornick, or Ameriqual - the dates work the same.

And that's actually true, too, for any of the civilian MREs like the Sure-Paks, aPacks, Menu Cs, or MREStar MREs - those are all made from the same components used in the military MREs so their shelf lives should be the same.

But if you're talking about "MREs" like HeaterMeals then those follow a different (and more limited) set of dates.

Tanjajean · Post by **Tanjajean** » Tue May 13, 2008 9:37 pm

jfko6 wrote:Tanjajean:

What type of MRE's will you be storing and for how long?
How will they be used?

-JFK

I am not sure who manufactured the MRE'S but they require water to activate. We are using them for our emergency shed. Our agency runs homeless shelters for fzmilies and singles and we want to be prepared for our "big one" (earthquake) since we are right on a major fault

We need to store food and water indefinitly but realize we will need to roatate it out.

Tanjajean · Post by **Tanjajean** » Tue May 13, 2008 9:40 pm

kman wrote:It kind of depends on what you mean by "where they come from". If you're talking about military MREs, it doesn't really matter if they're produced by Sopakco, Wornick, or Ameriqual - the dates work the same.

And that's actually true, too, for any of the civilian MREs like the Sure-Paks, aPacks, Menu Cs, or MREStar MREs - those are all made from the same components used in the military MREs so their shelf lives should be the same.

But if you're talking about "MREs" like HeaterMeals then those follow a different (and more limited) set of dates.

I wasn't sure if there was a difference on who manufactured the MRE's and how long they lasted. The ones we have are water activated.

Thank you for your help!

dirtbag · Post by **dirtbag** » Wed May 14, 2008 1:58 am

for longer life, consider canned dry foods, such as Mountain House... They last 25 years Plus, but they do require cooking.
http://www.mountainhouse.com/emgcy_fds.cfm

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