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I originally posted this on another forum, but since disconvering MRE Info and joining today, I figured I would repost this here. I have only recently discovered that there is a whole world of ration collectors and aficionados. Been watching quite a few "ration review" YouTube videos (thanks "Steve1989MREInfo" for getting me into it!).

I have a case of MREs made in 2006. Have had it in my pantry since about 2009 or 2010. Do not know how it was stored before that. The red/orange "fresh indicator" still has the center a bit lighter than the outer circle. This means they MAY still be OK inside as I understand things--I have done some research so I have some idea how these things work. For example, I WON'T be trying the couple of old brown-bag ones that I got while in ROTC or ARNG around 1990 that have been in storage lockers and my garage since then.

BTW/FWIW: the intended purpose of MREs in my emergency supplies is to have quick, ready to eat meals for on the go/travel during any situation where an evacuation is needed. Other "layers" in the supplies include freeze-dried items, canned goods and LONG term goods like rice, beans, wheat, etc.--which all require preparation or at least boiling water. I have a case of 2017 "fresh" MREs recently arrived to replace or supplement this older case.

The current case is still sealed, so I haven't sampled any individual meals. I thought I'd hang onto them figuring at least some of the contents are still OK (crackers, peanut butter, some entrees) even though others are very likely "turned" by now (cheese spread, apple sauce, nuts, ...). Should I just leave the case sealed and hope for the best when/if they are needed? Or should I open it up and check things out. Look for bloated entrees and pouches, obvious damage, etc.? If I should sample, are there any particular entrees that tend to spoil sooner? My case is Menu B from 2006.

When I first wrote the above, I was thinking more about supply storage, but now I'm leaning more toward getting into these things before they go bad for certain. 2006 is practically fresh, right? Right?

Thanks!

Rob

Welcome to the forum Teddydongo1. If you're just getting into this hobby now, I definitely recommend checking out those 2006s. Just be careful of course. Employ all your senses. If your temp indicator is still good at that age, you might be in luck but you never know until you get in there.

Enjoy

The things you have to be careful with are either Nuts or chocolate if you have any in your MRE (M&Ms or similar)
The fats in them tend to get rancid but as your TTI is still good i dont see much problems there
The mains will definetly still be good, never had an Main that wasnt edible, not even the 90s MRE mains i have.

Consider this: the purpose of emergency food is to have something reliable when there's nothing else. Questionable rations do not fit that description. Nothing else plus nothing edible equals...

Yes, of course. Reliable is important for emergency supplies. The 2006'ers have been "zeroed" from the supply inventory already.

Rob

Welcome to the forum. I'll go ahead and throw in my own two cents here.

If you're certain they have been stored in a cool place for the last 8 years, I'd hazard a guess that most of the components are still good or at the very worst, just not very enjoyable to eat.

On a side note, I did purchase some brown bag MREs from the dry desert land of Texas and they were in terrible shape. The plastic was breaking, some of the main entrees were beginning to leak, even the chocolate covered cookies were bad! My guess is that they were stored in a barn or something.

I intend to speak entirely for myself when I say that I would not add 2006 era MREs to my go bag or rely on them for any long term survival use. Since it's so easy and affordable to get newer ones made within the last 3 years, I'd invest in those and set the 2006 MREs aside for review or collection. In my case, I have six 2016 MCW (Meal, Cold Weather) rations in my go bag. I recommend them because they will last longer and are lighter to carry than standard MREs because the main entrees are freeze dried.

We're going camping this week and I'm taking one of my 2006 meals with me for snacking/lunch. I chose the Spaghetti with Meat Sauce. jWill report back.


Rob

OK...as mentioned in another thread, I took one of the 2006 MREs camping this week. It was Menu 20, Spaghetti and Meat Sauce.

On Monday, my daughter helped me enjoy this meal. The main was of course Spaghetti and Meat Sauce. It also had Wheat Snack Bread, Cheese Spread, Potato Sticks and Cherry and Blueberry Cobbler.

This was my first modern MRE with a FRH (last time I ate an MRE was when I was in ROTC in 1991). I think I didn't use quite enough water and I know I didn't leave it horizontal for 1 minute to get the heater started. After 10 minutes, the main packet was barely warm so I boiled some water to make it nice and hot. While the main was boiling, I added a little more water to the heater and it started up again, so I heated the Cobbler in it.

While the Spaghetti was heating, my daughter and I opened the Snack Bread and Cheese Spread. She thought the bread was pretty tasty and really liked the Cheese Spread. We also munched on the Potato Sticks, which were pretty good but did taste a little stale or just "canned". The Cheese Spread was a little bit brown and grainy, but still smelled and tasted good. Daughter ate a fair amount of the Potato Sticks, half the Bread and most of the Cheese.

We also mixed and drank the Lemon Lime Carbohydrate Beverage Powder. Tasted a lot like the same flavor Gatorade. We both enjoyed it on a hot summer afternoon outdoors.



Now fully heated, the Spaghetti was next on offer. I liked it. Tasted a bit like Chef Boyardee (which my daughter has never eaten in her 11 years). She didn't really like it and only ate one or two spoonfuls.



And dessert was the moderately warmed Cherry and Blueberry Cobbler. The tart cherries were a bit of contrast with the sweeter blueberries, but it actually worked! Daughter and I both liked it and shared it pretty evenly! It doesn't LOOK very nice, however.

I also made the Tasters Choice instant coffee (it was still good) and enjoyed it with the creamer and sugar.



I made use of the matches over the rest of the camping trip to start fires, light candles and the BBQ grill. The brown MRE spoon also became my "go to" spoon for coffee over the rest of the trip.

Overall a nice lunch! The quality was down a little on the Cheese Spread and maybe the Potato Sticks (or maybe they always taste like that), but everything else seemed to be in good shape still after 12 years.

Rob

That's great. Sharing MREs with little ones is always a hit. Glad this one mostly survived.

She has watched some MRE videos with me and also helped me "unbox" my first British 24 hour ration. Claimed the right to help me eat that one when the time comes, too.

Rob