Is this normal or common?

[stick4543]

I just opened a 2009 Menu 6 Chicken with noodles. Everything was as it should be except when checking the menu list on this site, I see that the MRE should have contained a Ranger Bar, which I must say kind of excited me since I have never had the opportunity to try one. But instead of the Ranger Bar, my meal came with a fig bar. This is the first time I've opened an MRE and have it contain something it wasn't supposed to have. Is it common to chnage out some of the contents?

I am still looking for that Ranger/Hooah bar

[rationtin440]

If I'm not mistaken, the Canadian IMPs and the British 24HR ration packs have a notice on them something to the effect that "due to supply situation, one item may have been replaced by something else" or something to that effect. I'm not sure if similar situations are encountered in facilities here, but it would be nice for the manufacturer/packer to put this notice on the MREs because I've encountered it myself from time to time.

[stick4543]

So it has happened. Thank you.
I agree that they really should put a notice of some kind on the package.

[biscuits brown]

Hi Stick welcome

There are a couple of threads here IIRC which deal with this issue with MREs.

[Richard w.]

The 2009 menu 6 includes the Ranger Bar, but the 2008 menu 6 had the fig bar.

If you check the actual pack date of your menu 6, you'll probably find that it is within the first 3 or 4 months of 2009.

There's usually a lag before all the components in a meal actually conform to the official calendar year's menu.

[Ruleryak]

Richard's answer most likely describes your case but I did want to mention that yes, occasionally you find mistakes in MREs. Substitutions must happen too, but having busted open a few hundred myself over the years I can say I've only run into mistakes myself. Never had a flat out missing item but I've had meat loaf where spaghetti should have been and a second chocolate bar instead of a cracker as examples of random screwups.

[cablemonkey]

Get a case of MenuC if you really want to see wacky substitutions.

[Paha Sapa]

Yes, it happens. I opened a 2008 menu 9 Beef Stew about 5 minutes ago. Everything is per the menu except that I got a carrot pound cake instead of the HooAH! bar that is supposed to be there. Date code on the pound cake is 8116. Got the dairy shake in this one, so I think I'll tempt fate again and give it a try. I had a vanilla dairy shake from 2007 last week with no ill effects. Will do the same with this one, as I haven't tried the chocolate. I liked the vanilla one!

[Bugoutgrub]

Pangea and Sterling Foods "merged" sometime in the recent past. Perhaps there was some menu mixing in the process?

[MrFahrenheit]

I opened a 2008 beef patty to find 2 pattys instead of a patty and a mac cheese mexican style
Cant complain when its a classy screw up like that

I do love that mac n cheese mexican style though, I think its discontinued now though?