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Does anyone know what the shelf life of British 24-hour ration packs are ?

Am I right in assuming the date on the side of the box is the 'from' date and not the expiry date ?

Hi Varley - welcome to the forums!

I believe the shelf-life of the British rations is supposed to be around 3 years. But like the MREs, that time period could be longer (or shorter) depending on storage conditions.

And yes...I believe that date on the side of the box is the date produced, not the expiration date.

Hi,
as far as I know the date at the side of the box is the production date.
The main entrees can be eaten up to 10 years after the production date. (I tested it myself), but other items as soup, beverage powder and side dishes will taste bad after 6 or 7 years. I have consumed several rations that were perfect after 6 years, except for the cheese spread. The cheese had rotten its way right through the aluminium container it was in!

I like the main entrees of the Brit rations.
The dumplings in heavy sirup taste good, but on a cold day the sirup sticks to your tongue and theeth like candle wax.
They also had Arctic Rations with freeze dried meals which tasted reasonably well.

greetz, Jan

Hi all,
I am having a "Beef Stew with Dumplings" from a British 24-hour ration pack, it tastes perfect, no funny taste, just great; packed in 1996! Amazing. So yes I concur with a 10-year shelf life claim! Best stuff I've tasted since the Wornick or Sopackco Chicken and Salsa.

Gerry

aquarius wrote:Hi,
as far as I know the date at the side of the box is the production date.
The main entrees can be eaten up to 10 years after the production date. (I tested it myself), but other items as soup, beverage powder and side dishes will taste bad after 6 or 7 years. I have consumed several rations that were perfect after 6 years, except for the cheese spread. The cheese had rotten its way right through the aluminium container it was in!

I like the main entrees of the Brit rations.
The dumplings in heavy sirup taste good, but on a cold day the sirup sticks to your tongue and theeth like candle wax.
They also had Arctic Rations with freeze dried meals which tasted reasonably well.

greetz, Jan

Argh! FFS don't eat the cheese! It's all been removed from the rat packs for the reasons you state. If you find some with it in just don't eat it!

The date on the side is the packed date.

Never had the treacle pudding then

They are all being revamped now however.

My Uk ration packs have a production date of 03/07/03 and a best before date of end of Jan 2007.