Civilian MRE page may need an update

[fnbrowning]

Just an FYI: As the page was last update in August 14, 2004, some items need attention.

M-Packed 12
Semi-official page: http://pages.southtech.net/crownpt/M-PACKED2.htm is a dead link.

There are some Sure-Pak II MREs out on the market now that are not listed on the page that we need info on. Here is a picture:



I've looked in our civilian MRE section, other places on the Internet, can't find info on these. Maybe a new manufacturer. Here is a picture:


Thank you!

[kman]

Thanks for the heads-up, fnbrowning. I wasn't aware of the broken M-Packed link - probably because they don't make them anymore - they might have just killed the links.

Also, I'm pretty sure that Sure-Pak II pic is an older one from around 1999 or earlier. Those were made by Sopakco. I'm pretty sure those have been updated to the "SurePal 12" brand that looks like this:



And then as for that final picture, those look like so many other self-assembled MREs - someone buys up the parts, puts them in a bag, slaps an "MRE" sticker on them, and sells them for $8 each. I'll probably add a picture of these to the website - but I'll add it to the "How to buy MREs" section under "What not to buy".

[CaptBob]

My Wornick contact informs me that their Mil-Spec brand (which occasionally shows up on eBay) "was salvage or, on a good day, overruns -- but that product was disposed of in the preparations for Y2K so the date of discontinuation was closer to 1999 than 2000."

So, if anyone sees this on eBay, it's at least six years old.

[Dekard]

...My Wornick contact informs me that their Mil-Spec brand (which occasionally shows up on eBay) "was salvage or, on a good day, overruns -- but that product was disposed of in the preparations for Y2K so the date of discontinuation was closer to 1999 than 2000." ...

umm - SALVAGE? wtf is SALVAGE, precious?

[CaptBob]

Crown Point is a "sister company" of Sopakco. Their website is: http://www.crownpt.com

[dirtbag]

umm - SALVAGE? wtf is SALVAGE, precious?
Ever hear of the 5 second rule?

[CaptBob]

According to Wornick,

"Salvage is any product that can't be sold to our customer, the US military -- expiration date too close, overruns, some aspect of the product out of spec, etc. This doesn't necessary equate to inedible."

It usually equates to MREs via mail order or through the local army/navy store.

Or, as we've seen, repackaged cases of MREs.

One more thing, they say there are 117 inspection points and that each item is checked four times. If something is out of spec, it's salvage. Now, that might mean that the entree is a bit too dry, or that it has one tenth of one percent too much salt, or even that the packaging has a cosmetic blemish. That's where the salvage comes from. And where does it go? To Long Life Food Depot, the exclusive agent for disposition of Wornick's salvage product.

Speaking of specs, I thought you'd like to see the nine-page spec sheet on, oh I don't know, how about Country Captain Chicken:
COUNTRY CAPTAIN CHICKEN SPEC SHEET

[MreKampr]

lol..you would think that the ccc is delicious based on that spec sheet!

this would seem to make you believe that buying cases of military
mres rather than components is a better bet.

i've only purchased components as of yet..
The Items I like have been consistently good.
I will be Ready to buy cases in jan/feb..i'll let you all know
what i find.

[kman]

Hey CaptBob...I was curious about what you said here:

My Wornick contact informs me that their Mil-Spec brand (which occasionally shows up on eBay) "was salvage or, on a good day, overruns -- but that product was disposed of in the preparations for Y2K so the date of discontinuation was closer to 1999 than 2000.

I'm not quite buying what they're saying about the Mil-Spec brand being salvage or overruns. I say this mainly because all the Mil-Spec entrees I ever saw where always packaged differently than regular MRE entrees - and the menu items were different, too. For example, check out this pic from a recent ebay auction:



That's how the entrees used to look - in a while box with a different sized entree bag. Sure, the Beef Stew entree was probably the same as the military verison, but they also had Turkey with Savory Vegetables, Beef Chili w/ Beans, Vegetarian Pasta Fagioli. As far as I know, those weren't ever US entrees.