I'm the proud owner

[Biobrew]

. . .of some vintage MREs.

I dove into the ebay pool last night, and in my excitement to make my first ebay purchase of MREs I made 2 rookie mistakes - not sticking to my max bid, and not checking the menu dates on here first. After all of 2 minutes of checking this morning, I found I had purchased 4 MRES from 1996:

No. 2 - Tuna and Noodles

No. 6 - Frankfurters, Beef

No. 9 - Pork Chow Mein

No. 10 - Chili and Macaroni

On the plus side - I've finally waded into the pool, I've learned a bit about how to go about this, the cost was about $7.50 a meal which isn't going to break the bank, and it will be interesting to eat my first 20 year old MRE.

[RockyRaab]

I predict that the only person happier is the seller. Would I eat an MRE old enough to vote? Nope.

[sourwes]

I have eaten MREs 20 yrs old that were fine. Usually the coffee, dairy products and cheese packs are bad but most other items are fine. I currently have a case of 2001 mfr MREs that I've been munching on. A few weeks ago one of the menus had a pack of Austin peanut butter crackers that tasted like they were from a new ration. Even my wife was surprised.

[elandil]

. . .of some vintage MREs.



No. 6 - Frankfurters, Beef

WooHoo, 4 fingers of death....

[Biobrew]

WooHoo, 4 fingers of death....

Yeah I noticed that. That and the tuna should be an adventure. I'm just sorry there was no CCC.

[shawker71]

I've eaten them 12 years older than that. Your good.....the tuna won't be but you'll be fine.

[Icon]

I just had a friend give me seven MREs from 2012. His Son in Law (special forces guy) bought him a case, he doesn't seem to like MREs so he gave me what he didn't eat. Not sure if I want to eat them now, or save them for a future time.

[Biobrew]

After eating the first of these - The Four Fingers of death - posted in the MRE reviews - I'm not sure what to do next. Do I save the other three because they might be worth something down the road? Or will their worth only decrease? Should I open the others and hope my luck, in terms of eating really old food with no ill effects, holds?

[parafireboy]

After eating the first of these - The Four Fingers of death - posted in the MRE reviews - I'm not sure what to do next. Do I save the other three because they might be worth something down the road? Or will their worth only decrease? Should I open the others and hope my luck, in terms of eating really old food with no ill effects, holds?

I always try to put one on the shelf, but as for the rest, just follow your gut (no pun intended ). I think I've got one sealed MRE from about every five years since they were released that I keep sealed, but it is always fun to open the older ones when you have extras, especially when you find cool stuff like the M&Ms that I found that say " proud sponsor of the 1992 Olympics".

As for safety, remember that they are essentially sterilized when sealed, so as long as the packaging is intact, it should still be safe. There are exceptions of course, such as the cheese spread and dairy items, but usually the only changes are cosmetic, texture, and some flavor degradation. It sounds like you're playing it safe though doing small bites and testing, which is good.

[sparkingdogg]

Four Fingers Of Death,

You people are bolder than me! I once ate street food in West Africa and literally spent 48 hours no more than 3 feet from the bathroom. THAT was enough to convince me to use some caution with food. It is NO FUN having an atomic bomb go off in your gut!!