Found this MRE at a flea market. Know anything about it?

[J_Pablo2497]

As the subject reads, I purchased this MRE at a flea market where I live in Connecticut. Obviously I opened it (sorry if I shouldn’t have). I decided that the best thing to do would be to document it and post the results here. I am new to posting to this forum, so please forgive me for any breaches of etiquette. What I gathered from the man who sold it to me was that this is a 1990’s era MRE, which was brought back by a member of the US Air Force. It wasn’t in the best condition, although for $9 I couldn’t refuse. I got the best pictures I could with my setup, and also got a video of it (I may post it to my YouTube channel, but no guarantee). I hope you all enjoy what I had to share, and any extra information on this MRE is more than welcome because I’m very interested in it. The contents of both the ration and accessory packet are: Cheese Tortellini in Tomato Sauce, Peaches (in Syrup ?), Crackers, Peanut Butter, Granola, Beverage Base Powder Cherry Flavor, Flameless Ration Heater, Spoon, Cream Substitute- Dry- Non Dairy, Domino Sugar, Iodized Salt, Taster’s Choice Instant Coffee, Gum, Paper Napkins, Moist Towelette, Matches, Tabasco Sauce, and a pamphlet on nutrition.

Please ask any questions you like, and if you know anything extra about this MRE, please let me know. Thank you!

[Simon2002mre]

Looks like a post brown bag, pre new ration. Probably being the late late 80s early 90s

[Simon2002mre]

The weird thing is though there are brown bag ration components in it, which is kinda cool, which probably points to a late 80s

[Simon2002mre]

The weird thing is though there are brown bag ration components in it, which is kinda cool, which probably points to a late 80s

Wait never mind I did more reasearch it’s probably a 94?

[J_Pablo2497]

I'm not sure, I looked around on this site and found that it might be from between '96 and '98. I couldn't find it before '96, and after '98, it changed from menu 12 to menu 13. Although, it has different components- it seems to have Acc Pack A instead of D and Peaches instead of Applesauce.

[SentientTootsieRoll]

It's from 1996. I know that because it says "6204" on the cardboard sleeve. That simply denotes that it was made on the 204th day of a year ending in "6". That was also the first year of that particular bag design, hence the leftover components from the dark brown bag days. Thanks for taking pictures and sharing with us!

[RockyRaab]

It's old enough to buy its own booze. Don't know about you, but I wouldn't eat it.

[J_Pablo2497]

It's from 1996. I know that because it says "6204" on the cardboard sleeve. That simply denotes that it was made on the 204th day of a year ending in "6". That was also the first year of that particular bag design, hence the leftover components from the dark brown bag days. Thanks for taking pictures and sharing with us!

Hey, no problem. Thanks for shedding some light on the issue.

It's old enough to buy its own booze. Don't know about you, but I wouldn't eat it.

Don't worry, I have no plans to consume the food in this MRE. I was going to try the Taster's Choice, but it was infested with fuzzy white mold. I'm sure some of the stuff is good, but yeah, I wouldn't risk it.

I just took a closer look and it seems the brown bag was compromised in the bottom right corner, like it snagged on something sharp. I suppose that would explain the musty thrift store smell I detected when I first opened it.

[elandil]

based on what I see in the pics, does not look like MRE is that bad. No delamination, no swelling of components, no obvious signs of leaks. The Red Pack coffees (folgers and tasters choice) for some reason tend to mold up at the drop of a hat, so I would not necessarily use them as an indicator of condition. My question would be is the cherry drink mix still powdery or compacted/hard?

[J_Pablo2497]

based on what I see in the pics, does not look like MRE is that bad. No delamination, no swelling of components, no obvious signs of leaks. The Red Pack coffees (folgers and tasters choice) for some reason tend to mold up at the drop of a hat, so I would not necessarily use them as an indicator of condition. My question would be is the cherry drink mix still powdery or compacted/hard?

The beverage base is still powder and yeah, I was surprised that the peaches haven't started leaking or anything. Everything in the accessory packet is seemingly pristine, like the matches and toilet tissue. The gum is sketchy though.