shelf life for MRE's?

[winchester1]

i'm lookin at pickin up a couple cases of these for shtf situation. i'm wondering how long they will last in an unopened case.

 

[sporter]

I seem to remember a graph on the internet somewhere.

Basically it said @ 70 degrees they would last 7 years in a fresh state.
60 degrees about 10 years.

Only buy them in the sealed case so you know when they were manufactured. Many dealers will remove them from the boxes and sell individually when they show an old date.

There is also a sticker red stick on the case that will indicate exposure to time/heat exposure.

If they turn completely dark IIRC then they are bad.

Check this link, has plenty of info:
MREs

 

[Lex Concord]

Sooo....

I should probably not count on gourmet taste from the MRE a family friend shared as a souvenir from Desert Storm?

 

[Scutter01]

I just fed one of indeterminate age to my daughter (her first MRE!) and she's still alive and not doubled-over in pain, so I assume it's OK.

 

[Big John]

MRE are bad the day they are packaged, I don't think they can get any worse.

 

[Libertarian01]

According to my info MRE's last this long:

120+ degrees = 1 month
110 degrees = 5 monthes
100 degrees = 22 monthes
90 degrees = 55 monthes
80 degrees = 76 monthes
70 degrees = 100 monthes
60 degrees = 130 monthes
<60 degrees = 130+ monthes

Hope this helps.

Doug

 

[Streakyzero]

to Big John! HA! When your hungry though they are the best meal you ever ate!

 

[shibumiseeker]

I've eaten 20 year old ones that were bland but ok. As long as the packaging is in good shape then you are good to go. They don't really go bad (unless the packaging is damaged, had one that made me gag when I opened the outer bag), they just lose flavor and nutrition. For a civi non mil I've eaten many hundreds of MREs of varying ages and storage conditions. But then, my philosophy is that anything that doesn't run away fast enough could be food

 

[CarmelHP]

I've eaten them several years beyond the supposed 10 year life max with no ill effects. And these were MREs that I knew had not been carefully stored. YMMV.

 

[Farmritch]

I've had ones 15 to 18 years old, The Tobasco is brown and I throw it away,
The Charms candies are turning to mush but other than that OK
It does all depend on how stored.
I hard that Uncle used to keep them in cold storage which would extend thier life bu quite a bit
The chart above is what I have always seen as a guide But YMMV

 

[CarmelHP]

I hard that Uncle used to keep them in cold storage which would extend thier life bu quite a bit

Yes, in fact, around Marengo was/is one of the country's largest underground cold storage facilities used for this purpose.

 

[jjc]

That info site (MRE)posted above was good reading. However, I am only familure with the Army US packed MRE. Now I find getting a case sealed is hard. And finding a price not inflated by current panic is harder. Additionally, I don't see US Army MRE's. Just knock offs.

So where to go.

 

[paperboy]

I figure I will eat them before they would possibly go bad. I always keep 2 in my truck during hunting season. More than once I have gotten hungry after my morning hunt and will heat up a meal and chow down. My favorite is the beef stew!!!!!!

 

[Eddie]

Count me in

I'm with the group that says they don't expire, they just get steadily more bland. My kids love them. I have eaten them years past the date with no problems. I usually throw away the cheese spread. Those big crackers are great to shove in a jacket pocket for emergencies and the older ones had an "Accessory Pack B" that had stuff like matches and toilet paper in it.

 

[22lr]

Ive seen one that had a very moldy snack bread. But then again, that was one out of about 3000 that were consumed over the course of a week (official issue MREs).

 

[Scarecrow]

Been eating them for over 20 years now, if you can find them, get the Cold Weather MRE. They are in a white package. They are completely dehydrated but last longer and contain more calories. The beef stew is my favorite. We actually were stuck eating these the first month or so of the war in 2003 because it was all they could get to us. MREInfo - RCW