[stairman]

I like MRE's and think there fine in a BOB.

[TaintRight]

This is a technical question, but does anybody know whether MRE's stand up better to environmental heat in storage than do other canned goods? MRE's are basically canned goods.

Somebody mentioned keeping a supply of MRE's in the car. I've hesitated to do that. Mild heat will break down color, texture and will go after some of the vitamins remaining in the canned food. But this is a minor problem compared to bacteria.

Canned goods are not sterile. When you can food, you heat it long enough at a high enough temperature to kill bacteria which are slightly more resistant than Chlostridium Botulinum (sp). That's the bacteria that produces botulism toxin. You simply target the stronger bacteria to make sure you have killed the weaker Chl. Bot. Heat resistant bacteria, thermophiles, remain in the canned food.

At room temperature they remain dormant and not an issue. But if exposed to heat (100F +/-) the bacterial spores sprout. The bacteria grows rapidly and consumes the food. Leave a can of Denny Moore in the hot trunk of your Lexus in July and you will probably be met with a foul smelling goo when you open it in September. That's if it hasn't literally exploded all over your golf clubs.

My fear is that MRE's stowed out in my truck over the summer would also be prone to this explosion of thermophilic bacteria.

I do know the paperwork that comes with the MRE's tells you they will last ten years if kept in a cool place. However, they will last for only a short period if stored in a warm environment. I wonder if this is because they are prone to the same bacterial issues as canned goods. Anybody know?

I'd hate to escape whatever it is I end up escaping only to find my food supply is ruined. Darlene will not be happy.

So far my strategy has been to keep freeze dried stuff in the truck during the summer, and then put in a few canned goods in the fall. Then I take the canned goods out in the late spring when it warms up. I'd like to replace it all with MRE's, but am afraid to.

Any thoughts?

[stairman]

Here is a site that explains a few things better.MRE's Facts, History, Shelf Life Information, MRE Information

[warvet]

My only point of this is, lets say your a great survivalist, you have all your food stocks, more and more every year, what happens if the SHTF and you have this awesome stock of food but most of it is expired or near expiry. By the time you check you find you actually have far less than you will need. Do you eat it up every few years and buy more? Isnt that sort of defeating the process? im sure well see tons of posts to this one lol
Tim

[Sctr22]

Normally I would keep a record of the expiration dates and rotate it out of storage as it gets close to it. If you started by buying a small amount at a time then you should have small groups of food expiring around the same time, allowing you to easily go to the store to buy more to replace it and eat what will go bad soon. Its the circle of self life...lol.

[TaintRight]

I wouldn't hesitate to eat out of date canned or dried food. Particularly in a survival scenario. If the cans are bloated, or there is an off odor, that's a different story. But I'd never shy away from eating something because of the expiration date stamped on it.

The reality is none of the expiration dates on canned or dried foods have anything at all to do with food safety issues. Not one. The date is based on color, texture, flavor or maybe - but not necessarily - nutritional issues.

In a lot of instances the expiration date is totally arbitrary. A few retailers demand all vendors include expiration dates on their products. Even if the product doesn't actually expire. Sugar carries an implied expiration date for example. Look for "use by" dates. They too are meaningless. Use your nose and eyes instead.

As far as the vitamin content goes, your body probably won't even absorb all the water soluble vitamins remaining in an old can of stew. Chances are you'll have more B & C in your urine than you body took from the food. So if its not bloated, why toss it out?

A parallel issue is the expiration of vitamin pills. I have accumulated a sizable stock of vitamin pills from various sources. Some have "expired". Some have not. I keep them all, and will use them if and when the SHTF. Some of the ones that have expired show, for example, an RDA of 7000% on vitamin C or the B complex. If the strength is half or even 10% what the label says due to the passage of time, the pill will still contain way way more than your body will absorb in a day. Under no conditions will your body absorb a water soluble vitamin in quantities greater than 100% of the RDA. Normally it will absorb less than that because you will have gotten some from your cream of wheat and Tang. The rest you pass in your urine.

Oil soluble vitamins are a different story. You do absorb and store whatever you ingest. In fact overdosing on vitamin A has been a problem with people taking Cod Liver oil. And for that same reason you should never eat a Polar Bear's liver. The excess A will do to you almost exactly what a deficiency of vitamin A will do.

There are a lot of general misconceptions about food. Mostly because faux science has been used to market more profitable alternatives. Don't get me started.

[stairman]

On canned food I put ex. date on the bottom with magic marker. I turn the cans upsidedown when they get close to the date so Ill know and it redistributes the contents. Im not a stipler and as stated know ex.dates dont always mean theirs a danger. Ill eat them along and add moreto the stash thats more fresh.

[scorch]

Originally Posted by Sctr22

Well I guess you could whittle an end and use it as a toothpick to get the rabbit you just cooked over your fire which you started with a firesteel...cause MATCHES ARE FOR WUSSIES! LOL

I agree though, I like MRE's. Think they are a good bang for your buck and like Mac said you can use it for more than just a meal.

Thier only for wussies till Your freezing cold and injured. But other that their for wussies.(note I keep a match tube in my pack)

[stairman]

Scorch what are you saying is for wussies MRE's?

[crazydave]

a big thing with mres which ranger rick picks up on on his site is the amount of packaging. strip that out and you can pack those three days in one outer bag.

as a brit I used to carry items tucked away in pockets and webbing because some of the stuff was smaller than the UK ration pouches. taste wise though there were some real mingers in there and some of the things like pound cake didnt like being sat on. I never likes the drinks supplied as there wasnt enough to cover between meals IMO.

for us they are expensive and If I was using a truck then I'd pack supermarket food like chilli and rice, cheese and mac, or weiners and beans as I think you guys call em.