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MRE shelf life

5K views 18 replies 14 participants last post by  MikeK 
#1 ·
I have a lot of MRE's that are about 10yrs old.I know their past exp.date but I just can't bring myself to throw them out. I already have done that once with a previous batch. Should I chuck them or hold on to them in case i'm starving.I have enough food for a year or more (deh\fd)
any thoughts would be helpfull.
 
#7 ·
I know what the expected life of an MRE is. What I was asking is should I keep them or not. It was just a question. As I said I threw away about 400 of them some 10yrs ago that I had from 1991. I had them for about 13 yrs.I have been prepping for a while now and was just looking for comments or people in the same situation. Thanks
 
#4 ·
If you have room keep em. Even if you don't have room maybe you can keep em. How about putting them in a plastic tote and burying them. I have found that the best way to bury things is to keep water away from the top of your container, so I would fill the container full so the top doesn't crush down and then mound up something light on top of the lid to make it dome shaped and then lay several layers of plastic over it. Leave the bottom of your plastic sheets open.

After all dogs bury their bones don't they? Are dogs smarter then we are?
 
#5 ·
I'd open one up and see how well the contents have held up. I've had cases that were exposed to hot conditions that nearly everything inside was inedible. If the contents of yours are ok, then hang on to them.

A quick way to tell is to look at the Tabasco bottle. If it's still red, everything is fresh. If it's clear, things are getting a bit old. Use them now. If it's dried out and brown, most of the foods are bad. This works 100% for MREs exposed to heat. But I don't know how well it works for aged MREs stored in cool conditions. But it's worth a try.
 
#9 ·
My 13 yr old MREs still taste as good as "new", just opened up a chicken and noodle entree last fall. So, open one and see if they are still good, simple. But I do plan to buy another case to backup these, and open an old MRE every year to check the stash. BTW, my 14 yr old SPAM is still OK, too...
 
#10 ·
I have several cases that are about 5 years old and they are still fine. I eat one 2 or 3 times a year to see if they're still good (well, as good as they can be). Haven't kept any around 10 or 12 years, though. I just open one, heat it, and see if it's still good. If you just don't want to keep them, maybe someone else will take them off your hands.
 
#12 ·
"Old" MREs

I have a lot of "old" food. Unless a can is bulging I keep them and my old MREs too. If they aren't "good" when I need them then I plan to feed them to my dogs, cat, chickens, throw into the fish pond or use them to set traps with. Very few things should actually go "to waste".

If you open one or two and they are really "bad" then at least throw them in your compost pile but I'm pretty sure my big dog would eat them no matter what. :) JMHO
 
#15 ·
I have some from the late 80s. I guess I'll have to open one up and see if it's still good.

The only time I got a real bad one was when I was in Korea in 89. I opened it up and some fuzzy green stuff was growing in the bag. And that was from a case no more than a year old. I guess that one didn't get radiated.
 
#16 ·
My dad had some old MREs from the Korean war. Stuff was still edible. Bottom line, keep them...usually foods packaged for long term storage don't become poisonous (except maybe moist foods stored in swollen cans) they only lose nutritional value. Trust me, if you are ever hungry those stale crackers will be delicious.

BTW, MREs are NOT what you want for long term survival. I've lived off them for weeks at a time, and it isn't fun after awhile. Stops you up and too heavy. Go with dehydrated, or even better yet freeze dried if you can spare the coin.
 
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