kidsluvmres wrote:I'm wondering if Ameriqual put these together as a way to use excess inventory. Perhaps the box with the Katrina contract number is simply part of an overrun they're using instead of throwing away. That being said, there sure does seem to be a lot of things about these that raise suspicions.
Menu C MREs for sale on eBay
I don't know about "suspicions", but to me it's starting to add up that there may really be some merit to the merchant's claims that Ameriqual put these together as a lower cost alternative for civilian contractors. While they may not be "real" in the sense that they were not packaged for DOD use, most of the components would be the same as those found in DOD packaging, albeit some in different types of packaging (e.g. HDRs). And if nothing else, there seems to be some sort of a value-add in that some of the packaged meals seem to have more components than the military packaging.
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kidsluvmres
- Posts: 20
- Joined: Tue Jun 20, 2006 12:59 am
Just to clarify, by "suspicions" I was just trying to say that some legitimate questions are being raised due to the differences in packaging, date codes, etc. Hopefully we'll have some answers soon. My guess at this point would be that these were put together for civilian contractors using a variety of different date components and that they modified the packaging in order to distinguish these MRE's from government issue MRE's.
I finally had a chance to review the "Menu C" MREs I received from a buddy. These are the same ones being sold in those eBay auctions. I received four of them and just opened up two and took pictures. Here they are:
Menu #10 - Meatballs w/ Marinara
Notice the new logo and lack of text at the bottom of the bag:
This is looking into the recently-opened #10 MRE and what the contents look like fresh out of the bag:
And here are all the contents of #10 laid out - my first impression was "that's a lot of food!":
Finally, here's Menu #5 - Meatloaf w/ Gravy
The only thing that had me scratching my head with the meatloaf was that they included cheese spread but no wheat snack bread or crackers. I guess I'm just supposed to mix it in with the meatloaf and bbq sauce.
As you can tell from the pics, there were a number of parts that were originally destined for HDRs - crackers, raisins, cookies, etc. Other than making it difficult to take flash pictures, these parts weren't any different from the regular MRE parts.
Almost all the major parts were made by Ameriqual with the exception of a couple of things from Wornick and baked goods from Sterling Foods.
Overall, these appear to be pretty good MREs. A rough calories count gave me 1800 calories in the Meatballs MRE and 1500+ in the Meatloaf. That's definitely more than the 1250 in a regular MRE.
The good: lots of food, "snack heavy" - lots of desserts and things you can munch on anytime.
The not-so-good: only a few MREs have beverage bases - the rest have apple cider in the accessory pack. Also, there doesn't appear to be as much "nutritional planning" or "meal planning" put into these MREs. Cheese spread without anything to spread it on, for example.
But if you're looking for a decently-priced alternative to buying MREs from eBay, these don't appear to be a bad deal.
Menu #10 - Meatballs w/ Marinara
Notice the new logo and lack of text at the bottom of the bag:
This is looking into the recently-opened #10 MRE and what the contents look like fresh out of the bag:
And here are all the contents of #10 laid out - my first impression was "that's a lot of food!":
Finally, here's Menu #5 - Meatloaf w/ Gravy
The only thing that had me scratching my head with the meatloaf was that they included cheese spread but no wheat snack bread or crackers. I guess I'm just supposed to mix it in with the meatloaf and bbq sauce.
As you can tell from the pics, there were a number of parts that were originally destined for HDRs - crackers, raisins, cookies, etc. Other than making it difficult to take flash pictures, these parts weren't any different from the regular MRE parts.
Almost all the major parts were made by Ameriqual with the exception of a couple of things from Wornick and baked goods from Sterling Foods.
Overall, these appear to be pretty good MREs. A rough calories count gave me 1800 calories in the Meatballs MRE and 1500+ in the Meatloaf. That's definitely more than the 1250 in a regular MRE.
The good: lots of food, "snack heavy" - lots of desserts and things you can munch on anytime.
The not-so-good: only a few MREs have beverage bases - the rest have apple cider in the accessory pack. Also, there doesn't appear to be as much "nutritional planning" or "meal planning" put into these MREs. Cheese spread without anything to spread it on, for example.
But if you're looking for a decently-priced alternative to buying MREs from eBay, these don't appear to be a bad deal.
Kman ---- In the "spread out" picture of Menue 10, what's in the foil pouch in the top row? 
And damn, aren't those little bottles of Tabasco the cuttest little things you ever laid eyes on?
`rats
And damn, aren't those little bottles of Tabasco the cuttest little things you ever laid eyes on?
`rats
Last edited by C-rats on Wed Jan 02, 2008 7:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Everything tastes better with Tabasco
That's an oatmeal cookie. Here are the menus from eBay auction listing - the two meals I opened match these contents exactly:
MENU 10
Meatballs in Marinara
Crackers
Peanut Butter
Oatmeal Cookies
Cinnamon Scone
Nacho Cheese Pretzels
Candy I - Peanut M&M’s
Tabasco Bottle, Red
Accessory Packet C
Spoon
MENU 5
Meatloaf w/Gravy
Cheese Spread, Bacon
Caramel Apple Bar
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Fig Bars
Candy IV - Tootsie Rolls
Nacho Cheese Pretzels
BBQ Sauce
Raisins
Accessory Packet B
Spoon
MENU 10
Meatballs in Marinara
Crackers
Peanut Butter
Oatmeal Cookies
Cinnamon Scone
Nacho Cheese Pretzels
Candy I - Peanut M&M’s
Tabasco Bottle, Red
Accessory Packet C
Spoon
MENU 5
Meatloaf w/Gravy
Cheese Spread, Bacon
Caramel Apple Bar
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Fig Bars
Candy IV - Tootsie Rolls
Nacho Cheese Pretzels
BBQ Sauce
Raisins
Accessory Packet B
Spoon
Last edited by kman on Thu Jan 03, 2008 9:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
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kidsluvmres
- Posts: 20
- Joined: Tue Jun 20, 2006 12:59 am
What do you think about the legitimacy of the ebay auction's claim that these are factory MRE's? It doesn't make sense to me that these would be packaged in Ameriqual boxes yet they contain MRE parts from other manufacturers (Wornick). Unless the manufacturers purchase component parts from each other. Do you think these are factory made or put together and made to look like factory MRE's?
The jury is still out on that one, kidsluvmres. One thing to add, though - we ate the two MREs pictured above for dinner tonight and I noticed that the main entrees were actually made by Sopakco. So it really seems to be a mix of all three vendors.
The accessory packs do appear to be the same as the military accessory packs - they have the same salt, toilet paper, matches, and packaging as in the military MREs.
These MREs might have been made by one of the "Big Three" MRE manufacturers or they might have been made by someone else entirely. Either way, they look to be pretty good copies and all the parts inside are current and for the most part (with the exception of the HDR items) are exactly what's in the military MREs. The only big item really missing is the Hot Beverage Bag, and I don't miss that one personally.
The accessory packs do appear to be the same as the military accessory packs - they have the same salt, toilet paper, matches, and packaging as in the military MREs.
These MREs might have been made by one of the "Big Three" MRE manufacturers or they might have been made by someone else entirely. Either way, they look to be pretty good copies and all the parts inside are current and for the most part (with the exception of the HDR items) are exactly what's in the military MREs. The only big item really missing is the Hot Beverage Bag, and I don't miss that one personally.
As has been brought up in other threads on this site, the food business is pretty incestious. Companies often contract the services of other companies, even competitors. I would not at all be surprised if Ameriqual (or Sopako, or Wornick) would have hesitated to source overruns from their competitors. Realistically, if someone was packaging food product with Ameriqual's name as the source and shipping it out in boxes with Ameriqual's name on it, I'd think Ameriqual's attorneys would be all over it in nothing flat, along with the Feds.
Just as a more widely known example, you've probably seen the Hormel Chili in those microwavable bowls? They're processed and packaged in a Faribault Foods plant. Faribault is a direct competitor to Hormel in the packaged chili market.
Also, I'm not sure what the fascination is with a package with a "Not for Commercial Resale" indicia on it, if the non-labeled package contains the same components regardless of their packaging source.
Just as a more widely known example, you've probably seen the Hormel Chili in those microwavable bowls? They're processed and packaged in a Faribault Foods plant. Faribault is a direct competitor to Hormel in the packaged chili market.
Also, I'm not sure what the fascination is with a package with a "Not for Commercial Resale" indicia on it, if the non-labeled package contains the same components regardless of their packaging source.
While Menu C MREs contain some of the same components as regular military MREs, they don't contain *all* of the components and the menus are completely different. For someone looking for a case of what's actually used by the military, these won't work - they're just an imitation. A good copy, sure, but still not exact.MCIera wrote:Also, I'm not sure what the fascination is with a package with a "Not for Commercial Resale" indicia on it, if the non-labeled package contains the same components regardless of their packaging source.
But for someone looking for an MRE-type of product who's not interested in getting the real military thing, these appear to be just as good (and maybe even better) than the other civilian MREs out there - the Sure-Paks, aPacks, and MREStars.
