12 year old MRE's the REAL use by date....

[MRE_archaeologist]

Hello all, you are all crazy.... so I should fit in here nicely.

I thought you would all like to hear about my experience with eating a 12 year old MRE last year. And yes, since I ate it last year, I am still alive. The people here at the rehab cente are so nice too. (j/k)

A rock climbing buddy of mine used top be in the marine corps and had a few left over, which he took on a climbing trip for us to eat. Only when we got out there did he realise the brought the old military ones from 12 years ago (which he kept for sentimental reasons I guess) instead of the newer ones he intened to bring. We were in the middle of nowhere and hungry, so we ate them.

I've come to the conclusion MRE's don't have a shelf life but rather a half life.

The meals were fine (sorry can't remember which meals exactly) and tasted just like MRE's. The only casualty was the tabasco (flavorless) and mars bar candy bar. It hat turned to sand. There was no distinguishing between chocolate, caramel or any other layer, just sand. I didn't eat that but ate the rest of it and it didn't kill me. These mres were the ones in the dark chocolate brown bags. Only complaint; one of the two we ate didn't have a heater!

As best I can tell the rations were kept in the back of his pickup truck in the pacific northwest climate for the better part of the 12 years.

Has anyone easten rations older than 12 years and lived to tell about it?


He gave me the rest of the case and I still keep them around. If anyone is crazy enough to want one for whatever reason (museum piece, gag gift) I will be happy to trade them for a new issue one.

MRE_archaeologist

[BackwoodsPundit]

Yowsa! in his pickup truck bed.. unless he ived full time north of the artic circle, that is certainly not ideal conditions for long lasting food.. I will keep that in mind, but still I think I will start to cycle through my "emergency" supply once they hit 5 years or so... I should come up with a configuration/inventory list of dates for them.... hmmm...

Welcome! I am new too.

[kman]

Hi MRE_archaeologist - welcome to the forums!

Only 12 years!? Is that the best you can do?

Seriously, though, I think the farthest back I've gone with an MRE is 13 years. I had a few of those - corned beef hash, meatballs and tomato sauce, and pork w/ rice in bbq sauce. All of them were ok - even the nut cakes - those were the best.

But while 13 years is the furthest I've gone back, I do still have some cases from 1981, 1982, 1986, and a few from 1989. One of these days, I really do need to crack one of those open from 1981 and see how it held up.

I did open up a few MCI's from 1978/79. You can see pictures of the case and the parts here:

http://www.mreinfo.com/mci-contents-page1.html

I tried little bits of some of the entrees (turkey loaf, etc.) and while they still seemed fresh enough to eat, I didn't try the whole thing. I did, however, eat a whole can of peaches from 1979 and those were perfectly good. And check out the 26 year old fruitcake. I did take a bite of it and it still seemed good:

http://www.mreinfo.com/mci-fruitcake.html

I like how you say they don't have a shelf life but a half-life. Heh heh...that's so true. Some components like the tobasco, applesauce, and cheese spread do chance colors and look unappetizing, but the entrees seem to hold up. You can see some pics of temp-stressed MRE parts here:

http://www.mreinfo.com/mre-longevity.html

There are also some new temp-stress pictures on the DSCP web site but I didn't bookmark the link - I just downloaded the pics. I'll have to dig it up again later if you'd like to see it.

[kyle]

While going through a rather large box of 8track tapes yesterday I found 2 unopened MREs,must be from my Army days pre 1986.Right Away Food Corp.,menu # 1 pork patties dehydrated with acc.pack D,and a menu #10 tuna w/noodles.There both from the same Co. but the printing is different and the size of the baggs are diff. no date or code#s.If anyone wants them for their collection or wants 8 track tapes let me know

[kman]

Hey kyle - if you want to donate them to the cause, send them (the MREs) to me and I'll dissect them for the forums - pictures, taste test, etc.

[DIRTYDAVE]

Yes, send them to kman, he has all the necessary disection tools and a gas mask to use so the fumes don't kill him.