Out of Date MREs

[Mustachio]

I've seen a lot of people saying that they stock/carry military MREs that are a really long time past their use by date (one guy said he'd eaten one ten years past it's use by date and it was fine) and they taste as if they were as fresh as the day they were bought.

Has anyone had any experience with this? I've seen loads of auctions on eBay for really cheap MREs that are only a month of so out of date, or just coming up to their best before date, thinking about getting some and keeping them for a year or two and trying them out.

Anyone tried any?

[pseudonym]

I have ones that were packed 10 years ago. They are still fine.


It is up to the individual if they wish to consume them however,and this Forum cannot be held responsible for an excess run on your stock of bog paper if you eat a dodgy one

[Mustachio]

I have ones that were packed 10 years ago. They are still fine.


It is up to the individual if they wish to consume them however,and this Forum cannot be held responsible for an excess run on your stock of bog paper if you eat a dodgy one

I will bare that in mind. Heh.

[twilight_shadow]

I've seen ... not so much the US MRE packs but the UK... ratpacks for sale on eBay. But I wonder how that is legit since, as far as I understand from my interfacing with Forces, that all unused ratpacks have to be returned, and the Stores guys are not allowed to sell them off. The TA, I understand, has similar 'accountability' procedures tho. I am not quite sure what. So how is it that online and outdoor equipment stores can actually get hold of them and sell to the general public?

As to the quality of the latest ratpacks, they are brilliant, tho. miss the tubes of vegemite stuff and jams which you can squirt down your neck. On the other hand the inclusion of beef jerky just about makes up for that deficiency. :

[lonewolf]

I'd don't pay much attention to "use by" dates myself, a taste test will always tell if its edible or not.

[gadgetguy]

I have some packs that are at least 12 years old they have travelled a lot with me,three trips to the Sahara and back.i have stored whats left in my garage,brick,in a plastic tub with a sealed lid so they have probably gone through a lot of temp changes sinced I've had them,no idea what the went through when the military had them.

I opened one last week,corned beef hash yum,and it was fine.As others have said do a smell and taste test first and you should be fine or just add the tobasco sauce and then you will have a use for the pack of tissues supplied

[Snaffle]

Rat packs tend to go missing rather than being returned to stores, have seen an entire stack of packs get 'binned' due to one or two having a few rat holes.

i think Use by dates are only there for the sake of it really, to comply with food regs or something.

im sure if its stored in a cool dry place it will likely last many years after the use by.

[dazthechippy]

same thing here, I've eaten foil sealed meals that i got from snow & rock back in the day, they were about 8 yrs old when I consumed them and they were completely fine. Granted they were not MRE/ration packs but I'd eat those out of date too.

I saw a fella on the telly ages ago who ate spam or corned beef from an american ration pack dating back to vietnam and that was about 30 yrs old - he and the chap he was with said it tasted fine...

[ForgeCorvus]

I think you'll find that out of date MRE's are just as inedible as they were when "fresh"

[Fallschirmwomble]

I've seen a lot of people saying that they stock/carry military MREs that are a really long time past their use by date (one guy said he'd eaten one ten years past it's use by date and it was fine) and they taste as if they were as fresh as the day they were bought.

In 2005, I ate a "Lancashire Hotpot" and a "Sausage & Beans" pouch that was issued to me around 1990. No problems. The "Pears In Chocolate Sauce" had dissolved into liquid by then so I binned them. A few years later, I had another hotpot pouch and it tasted awful - but sustained me with no ill effects.

I carry these things as an emergency meal: they're formulated to have a long shelf life. The problem I have with these things is that as soon as you open one to test edibility, it's no longer usable as an emergency meal. Do note that the "PD" date is the production date, not the "use by" date.