Do MREs have an expiration date?

10 years if stored in control environment otherwise 5 was what I was told.

we were starting to be issued MRE's in the field right before i got out. we had to use alot of canteen water to re hydrate most of the meals. sounds like they have improved alot.

C-rats I liked the Meat in tomato sauce looked like a can of Alpo if side by side. never tried the taste test though

I still have a case of C-rats in storage. Right beside my case of Celebrity canned bacon.

I have an unopened case but not sure of date. They've been in my possession more than 5 years but not 10.

I'd give them away if I knew someone that what wanted them.

Each mre case has a tti. Time temperature indicator. If the center dot turns black it is expired.

I'll check and see...

Orange sticker is what a tti looks like.

I am a peanut butter lover but the C-rats had horrible tasting PB if such a thing exists and yes they came with the 4 mini packs of cigs that I always traded off and a handy dandy P-39 opener. The LORPS were much better but no one seems to know anything about them now a days......jk

The dehydrated Pork patty tasted HORRIBLE and looked like an old eraser. I would have rather eaten the eraser.

Loved the ham & limas with the cheese melted in with it.

Turkey loaf wasn't bad either.

Mountain House is pretty good!

X2
Expensive , but one of the best tasting. 30 year shelf life.

All the rage in the prepper/bushcraft/survivalist circles now are DIY MREs.

with a close similarity to a commercial MRE but at fractions of the cost

there are vendors who sell just the individual items at a reduced price

At this point I don't think it will be long before I end up with a freeze dryer. My wife just sent me a txt with the start of ingredients she is working on chili with freeze dryer tomatoes. I'm sure there will be a learning curve.

That said when I have my own vs hav a friend freeze drying our produce I will more likely make the finished product like chili and freeze dry it finished so all it takes for a meal to be done is add hot water and wait. I'm sure there ate some things it will work well on and others it won't. It's all a theory for now.

Mountain House, Peak, freeze dried is FARRRRRRR superior!



The day I spend actual money on an MRE……….

Yes I carried mountain house when I hiked the application trail.
Most expire in 20 years.

I have been using mine for dehydrating water for years and have many packages squirreled away for a rainy day.

The question I have is,.....

What date past the expiration date, would you eat them?

back in the '60's when I was a yougun, my cousin, his Dad and me would go on fishing/camping trips.
His Dad was a Master Sargent in the Army, he'd bring along C rations for us kids, we loved them.
Good times.