MCW main meals no longer produced by Mt. House?

[Amelieee1]

Hopefully they make some camo packs for those and it's not like that LLRP. Those were prototypes at least.
Thanks for sharing the photos Amelie, I'm glad the museum could get a chance to check one out. Did Ruleryak get a chance to test any of the components out?

I think he decided to just have the open one for display and not eat them. At the time we found them the cases he got were the only 2 known to exist so, definitely too rare for Sean to crack open. Sadly the case he opened had a dupe instead of the Lasagna.... one day I'll get a lasagna LLRP... and a Lasagna LRP from the 2000s run... and a Lasagna MCW... I will have ALL the lasagna

I do have 2 of the meal pouches identical to the ones in the LLRP, from 1989, Both are Lasagna, aparently they are in little blocks/cubes within the pack, or atleast that's what Sean said when he took them for me. Definitely would be interested to see what the LLRP looks like trayed out and if those old pouches hold up well, I think that's from before they added nitrogen to the packs right?

[cavguy]

Hey Cavguy, I wonder if this will reduce the shelf life for long term storage? Less artificial ingredients is much more appealing, nonetheless.

Steve, funny thing is the Mountain House Military-Spec Pro-Paks actually have a guaranteed 30-year shelf life when stored unopened in a cool area below 75°F. But the current MCW's only have a stated three year shelf life from date of manufacture (likely per the Govt. contract specs).

So the new rations without the artificial ingredients and preservatives have a longer shelf life!

[Fallout420]

Hey Cavguy, I wonder if this will reduce the shelf life for long term storage? Less artificial ingredients is much more appealing, nonetheless.

Steve, funny thing is the Mountain House Military-Spec Pro-Paks actually have a guaranteed 30-year shelf life when stored unopened in a cool area below 75°F. But the current MCW's only have a stated three year shelf life from date of manufacture (likely per the Govt. contract specs).

So the new rations without the artificial ingredients and preservatives have a longer shelf life!

Wouldn’t it be a three year inspection period, not shelf life similar to how MRE’s have a 5-year inspection period? The 3-year period is probably due to the sides and such and not the main, and also because the military is not the best at storing anything lol

[cavguy]

Hey Cavguy, I wonder if this will reduce the shelf life for long term storage? Less artificial ingredients is much more appealing, nonetheless.

Steve, funny thing is the Mountain House Military-Spec Pro-Paks actually have a guaranteed 30-year shelf life when stored unopened in a cool area below 75°F. But the current MCW's only have a stated three year shelf life from date of manufacture (likely per the Govt. contract specs).

So the new rations without the artificial ingredients and preservatives have a longer shelf life!

Wouldn’t it be a three year inspection period, not shelf life similar to how MRE’s have a 5-year inspection period? The 3-year period is probably due to the sides and such and not the main, and also because the military is not the best at storing anything lol

Long story short, I am not sure... The given three year shelf life has been an inconsistency since the inception of the MCW. But common sense tells us these mains last a long time!

[Tedster]

The 3-year period is probably due to the sides and such and not the main, and also because the military is not the best at storing anything

DOD does a great job of storing everything. They pretty much wrote the book on preservation and storage, mothballing, test inspection dates and the rest of it for food, ammunition, replacement parts, you name it. Rations are kept in temperature controlled cold storage and issued on a rotating basis.

[Fallout420]

The 3-year period is probably due to the sides and such and not the main, and also because the military is not the best at storing anything

DOD does a great job of storing everything. They pretty much wrote the book on preservation and storage, mothballing, test inspection dates and the rest of it for food, ammunition, replacement parts, you name it. Rations are kept in temperature controlled cold storage and issued on a rotating basis.

Ah interesting, I guess I should clarify that I meant once it gets out to the individual units. I can speak from experience that most MRE’s and emergency rations are kept in humid, non-climate controlled areas and rarely cycled through. I’m sure not everywhere is like that but from what I’ve seen it doesn’t instill much faith in that food lol

[Tedster]

I meant once it gets out to the individual units … rations are kept in humid, non-climate controlled areas

This is true! They didn’t keep my ass in a climate controlled warehouse either. MRE’s keep pretty well, it’s actually below freezing that will ruin them quicker than anything. Inexpensive vegetable industrial type seed oils oxidize and turn rancid.

The Freeze-Dried components should be safe to consume for 25 to 35 years, maybe longer.

[blue87fj60]

From what I understand:

https://theepicenter.com/blog/mountain- ... en%2DFree)

"The NEW Mountain House Pro-Paks are made to the exacting standards of the U.S. Armed Forces for Long-Range Cold Weather Patrols. The Military Spec Pro-Paks are now being produced for the military in place of the former brown package MCW/LRP rations."

MH - the civilian brand of Oregon Freeze Dried (OFD) - is still the manufacturer and at least, they just changed the packing from this:
MCW11.jpg
MCW13.jpg

to this:
Unbenannt1.jpg

Right?

Just ordered like 6 of the Pro-Paks that were on sale directly from Mountain House with free shipping. Had to give them a try.

[MrFahrenheit]

Hey Cavguy, I wonder if this will reduce the shelf life for long term storage? Less artificial ingredients is much more appealing, nonetheless.

Steve, funny thing is the Mountain House Military-Spec Pro-Paks actually have a guaranteed 30-year shelf life when stored unopened in a cool area below 75°F. But the current MCW's only have a stated three year shelf life from date of manufacture (likely per the Govt. contract specs).

So the new rations without the artificial ingredients and preservatives have a longer shelf life!

Honestly I think the changes and the shorter shelf life printed on the actual mains are due to their older vacuum packaging method which don't like to be knocked about or rough handled especially when cold and especially once out of their outer bags, the vacuum sealing process seems to cause high points around the food particles where punctures can occur at these 'high stress spots' if they get rough handled otherwise I'm sure the shelf life is just as good as the new pro paks as long as the seal stays intact.

Also the old civ pro paks used to be vacuum sealed and they aren't any longer either, a lot of freeze dried meals in europe such as the Real field meal and adventure menus do still vacuum seal their packs but they seem a lot thicker than the MH packaging ones.

I have several dozen of the mil spec propaks that are stored in plastic tubs and rarely touched and yet with only the occasional moving of the tubs when going through stock to rotate them maybe twice a year and a couple have failed at those high spots where they have been rubbed against another pack.
Its a shame really because those little bricks of goodness really are space saving compared to the newer....older method of packaging.
Real turmat field meals / camping meals also suffer from this but not as badly due to the thicker material used in the packaging and are rated for at least 7 years although I know they can last a lot longer.