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Camping, Hiking and Outdoor Activities Camping, hiking, and other outdoor activities within. |
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#1
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Can I freeze MRE's
Started thinking about my emergency food supply, and it's probably time to rotate out my canned food. Got to thinking about buying a case of MRE's, and wondering if it would make sense to just clear a shelf in my deep freeze (held around zero degrees Farenheit) and store them there.
I figure if SHTF, I could start on my perishable foods first, and by the time I was through those my MRE's would be thawed. I'm hoping that this plan would extend the life of the MRE's by quite a bit before I'd need to replace them. Whatcha think? |
#2
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I can tell you from personal experience that, if you're not planning on storing the MRE's 10+ years, there should be no need to freeze them. I once had the pleasure of clearing out 'expired' and excess MREs from my high school's ROTC department which were 10-15 years old. My compatriots and I consumed them and they were still quite fine. They are sealed with no air within and as long as they are stored in a dry, cool place they should be fine for years and years- they should last you well past whatever SHTF scenarios that we are likely to experience within the next decade.
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#3
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Thanks derwiking, just thinking through So.Cal earthquake scenarios and my other storage option which would be on a shelf in my garage, which experiences temperature swings throughout the year. Also, the MRE's tend to be rated at around 5-years, so thinking my freezer would safely extend that to 10.
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#4
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As derwiking states, MRE's have impressive enough shelf life that freezing doesn't seem useful. Save your freezer space for something else.
Also, you should be rotating through your emergency supplies often enough that your MRE's never go bad. If you're not consuming and replacing all of your MRE's over the course of 5-10 years, you're doing something non-optimal.
__________________
"Ecuador offers the United States $23 million a year in economic aid, an amount similar to what we were receiving under the tariff benefits, with the purpose of providing human rights training that will contribute to avoid violations of people's privacy, that degrade humanity," --Fernando Alvarado |
#6
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Freezing could actually cause some changes in the food, making some oils separate, etc. which could make the food less tasty. Also you run the chance of making the retort pouches brittle, making them more prone to a failure. Keep them cool in the 60-70 (min stays around 50-60) temps and they should last many years.
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__________________
"Just leave me alone, I know what to do." - Kimi Raikkonen The moment the idea is admitted into society, that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.' and that `Property is surely a right of mankind as real as liberty.' - John Adams http://www.usdebtclock.org/ |
#8
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Thanks for all the feedback guys.
I just placed an order with mredepot for a couple cases and some samples so my family can get acquainted with them. I was also able to apply the awesome "calguns" discount code, which made me even happier to be a member here. Thinking I'll just store the MRE's in my climate-stable house instead of the garage or freezer. Still chuckling on rabagley's gentle "non-optimal" comment. That has to be the nicest way anyone has told me "bad idea". Thanks again guys, -Puro |
#9
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MREs should not be frozen. Their shelf life can be increased by storing in a cool place. Below is a common chart and additional info showing how a cool storage area increases shelf life.
http://www.goldenseason.com.sg/mre_shelf_life.html |
#10
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#12
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DO NOT ROUGH HANDLE WHEN FROZEN is printed on them, so it should be okay to freeze them, but I simply don't see a point. besides food that is frozen often changes slightly and ruins the flavor and texture.
Not that MREs are known for good flavor and texture.
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Today, they walk among us. They’re on the television, they write for the newspapers, they have infiltrated the schools, the political system, and law enforcement. They call themselves Liberals. |
#13
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So I'm working on changing a few of my attitudes. Also, it's not really a huge issue if you're not cycling through your emergency supplies. There's a risk of having less of a buffer than you thought (if something unexpectedly goes bad), and you end up having to budget for a big buy every 5-10 years instead of regular, small purchases (which seems easier for most people to do). But if you don't routinely sample from your emergency supplies, you're not making some huge mistake. It's just not the optimal way to manage them.
__________________
"Ecuador offers the United States $23 million a year in economic aid, an amount similar to what we were receiving under the tariff benefits, with the purpose of providing human rights training that will contribute to avoid violations of people's privacy, that degrade humanity," --Fernando Alvarado |
#14
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OMG, quick comment on MREDepot.......I ordered yesterday, and received TODAY!!!
Completely surprised by their quick delivery, and again happy that I got the Calgun discount. I'd order from them again in a heartbeat. Now, to the taste tests.....(and a dose of extra fiber) |
#16
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Thanks. |
#17
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Another factor is vitamins do breakdown and nutrients can fade. .
__________________
"Just leave me alone, I know what to do." - Kimi Raikkonen The moment the idea is admitted into society, that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.' and that `Property is surely a right of mankind as real as liberty.' - John Adams http://www.usdebtclock.org/ |
#18
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Add your items to the cart, and while checking out, put "calguns" in the promo code box. It's a whopping 21% off, which I thought was great. I think the C-pack is not applicable to the discount, but pretty much everything else is. (I got A-packs)
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#19
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EDIT- I ordered and got the shipping email 7 minutes later. I think that's a new record Last edited by bluthandwerk; 04-10-2009 at 10:45 AM.. Reason: order update |
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