[Post18guy]

spotted an interesting article posted on Survivalmom.com;
http://thesurvivalmom.com/2012/07/1...-high-oxygen-content-in-competitors-products/
Oregon Freeze Dried down in Albany, Oregon decided to evaluate Wise Foods claims to 25 year shelf life in regards to amount of oxygen remaining in their products, It is an interesting read.

 

[John_Auberry]

Sounds like a add to me. The study was paid for by Mountain house right?

 

[Mels thinkingitover]

Sounds like a add to me. The study was paid for by Mountain house right?

Yep, Mountain House went into it looking to disprove Wise Foods storage life claims.

 

[pinchegringo]

Its much simpler really >

Mountain House doesnt taste like ass... No contest really.

 

[Writer's Block]

I love MH, and have never had much experience with Wise. The only time I tried Wise was with a friend and we hated it. I got him to try some of my MH of the same sort of thing and he was converted.

 

[MikeK]

Kudos to Mountain House for helping expose Wise as the scammers that they are.

Average oxygen levels in Wise Company products were 18.25%, nearly the 21% level found in the atmosphere and 110 times higher than the average 0.16% oxygen found in Mountain House products. The most alarming part is that Wise Company products were manufactured in April of 2012 and already exhibit near-atmospheric levels of oxygen, which would not provide a 25-year shelf life.

That doesn't surprise me a bit from them. Mountain House had the tests done by Columbia Food Laboratories, an independant lab. I'd love to see similar tests done on Efoods and a few of the other fly by nighters that are popping up just to take advantage of the increased demand. Part of why I keep suggesting to stick with known, long term food storage companies.

 

[~*Firefly*~]

Mountain House doesnt taste like ass... No contest really.

This. i tend to use other prep foods to doctor them up a bit but even if all you do is add water and stir, they're pretty awesome.

 

[Levant]

Why buy either of them? Make your own dehydrated meals and foods. Go to the store and buy frozen veggies. put them in your dehydrator. pack them in Mylar with an oxygen absorber. And don't forget to pack the additional water it will take to consume dehydrated foods.

 

[John_Auberry]

I have both......I cant stand the taste of ether.

 

[unseenone]

I support Mountain House 100%. Although we have some #10 of some items like butter powder and so on. The study might have been funded by Mountain House however, both the company doing the study, and Mountain House would lose 100% of credibility if the information was not 100% accurate.

As a result of the article I would be sticking to the Mountain House brand. Of course like everyone else, I have my own stocks of staples, like rice, beans, and so on.

As far as taste, everything I have tried with Mountain House was quite tasty, which prompted me to purchase more. Their new low sodium products are also a great thing, particularly for folks with special dietary needs.

 

[Oremrunner]

I dislike both brands, And this is far from being unbiased research when MH is paying for it. I would not trust it.. So why not just stock good foods that you normally eat and rotate it.. I do that and it works very well.

 

[unseenone]

Having some alternatives, with other nutritional value is a great idea. Having some stuff for camping, BOB, GHB is good. Having some alternatives, which require no refrigeration, such as meat, eggs, etc. is appealing to me. Even if you don't love the taste, it is better than rice and beans indefinitely.

There is nothing wrong with stocking canned goods and rotating it, I would say most folks probably do that as well as other stuff, me too. I find having maximum options and choices is very valuable. A years worth of store bought canned goods take up a lot of space, and if something went wrong, you need a couple of fall back options.

 

[Writer's Block]

For me, MH serves two purposes:

One, it is a low space, long term storage item that can be used to supplement canned, fresh, and other such items to make food go farther.

Two, it is light as heck when it comes to something for carrying in a BOB that is not those shortbread lifeboat bars.

 

[MikeK]

When it comes to space saving, dehydrated is more compact than freeze dried because it shrinks while drying, unlike freeze dried. It's my personal preference for a number of reasons. Though I have some FD foods, just not a lot.

 

[Grotius]

I dislike both brands, And this is far from being unbiased research when MH is paying for it. I would not trust it.. So why not just stock good foods that you normally eat and rotate it.. I do that and it works very well.

Simple.

You can't stock milk or cream.
You can't stock eggs (easily).
You can't stock butter.
etc.

We're pretty heavy canners in our house, and we know what we can and cannot set aside either via home canning or via long-term storage in mylar.

There are some products where MH #10 cans are simply efficient and effective ways to accomplish what is otherwise a PITA.

YMMV.

 

[AandB]

It's definitely an an explosive press release and if accurate, it is going to at least cripple Wise. I've called and written to Mountain House asking for a copy of the research, because I don't like that the actual study was not published along with the press release. If I see an actual copy of the research I'll repost it, and if anyone else already has it I'd love to see it! (Maybe one of the MH dealers on Sboards?)

 

[botheyesopen]

My biggest problem with Wise Foods is their sodium to calorie ratio. It's extremely difficult to find nutrition information on their foods unless you look on an actual package where it's required to be listed.
I have had an ongoing argument with them about the sustainability of surviving on their products. You would well exceed your recommended salt intake if you consumed an adequate amount of calories by eating their products. Provident Pantry and Mountain House both make their nutrition information available and neither have a sodium to calorie ratio anywhere near Wise.

 

[Offgridsurvival.com]

Learn to do it yourself! You will be much better off learning to Can, Grow your own food, Trap, Hunt, Fish, etc....

If the SHTF for an extended period of time those that figured out how to do it themselves are going to be much better off than those who rely solely on emergency food.

 

[Writer's Block]

Learn to do it yourself! You will be much better off learning to Can, Grow your own food, Trap, Hunt, Fish, etc....

If the SHTF for an extended period of time those that figured out how to do it themselves are going to be much better off than those who rely solely on emergency food.

And what if there is an event that makes it short term impossible to hunt, fish, etc. Say a biological contamination of the region where you cannot safely leave your home? Say a radiation leak that does not reach your home, but affects much of the wild land around it? etc etc...

How many times have you gone hunting or fishing and gotten nothing? Most people have had it happen AT LEAST once, but when you are trying to keep yourself and your family fed in a stressful time it is not an option.

Stored foods are meant to be a fall back, not the main supply. It is like using a fire extinguisher instead of calling the fire department. You want to have one, but if the better option exists then use it.

If stored foods MUST be your main supply of food, then yeah, you better hope you have the skills to supplement the supply as it runs out. Look at it this way though, stuff like storing MH is exactly the same as smoking and drying meat to get through the winter. It is a lot harder to hunt and fish in winter than summer, especially during storms. A friend of mine lived way up north fro decades and told me once of a winter storm where for more than 10 days it was impossible to leave the house because of the weather.

 

[Offgridsurvival.com]

And what if there is an event that makes it short term impossible to hunt, fish, etc. Say a biological contamination of the region where you cannot safely leave your home? Say a radiation leak that does not reach your home, but affects much of the wild land around it? etc etc...

How many times have you gone hunting or fishing and gotten nothing? Most people have had it happen AT LEAST once, but when you are trying to keep yourself and your family fed in a stressful time it is not an option.

Stored foods are meant to be a fall back, not the main supply. It is like using a fire extinguisher instead of calling the fire department. You want to have one, but if the better option exists then use it.

If stored foods MUST be your main supply of food, then yeah, you better hope you have the skills to supplement the supply as it runs out. Look at it this way though, stuff like storing MH is exactly the same as smoking and drying meat to get through the winter. It is a lot harder to hunt and fish in winter than summer, especially during storms. A friend of mine lived way up north fro decades and told me once of a winter storm where for more than 10 days it was impossible to leave the house because of the weather.

Sorry, I should have mentioned that all of those things would also help you establish your stockpiles for the sceneraios that you mentioned. I'm not discounting the need for emergency food at all, I just think you are probably better off doing it yourself instead of buying a one size fits all solution from one of these emergency food companies.

It's cheaper and you are far more likely to enjoy the taste if you learn how to do it yourself.