Preppin' 101: Long Term Storage Food - MREs Update

A reader sent me an e-mail bringing up some important changes that are in the works regarding MREs. This was in response to my recent article on MREs. Here is that e-mail:

Riverwalker,

I don't know if you know, but there is a new MRE being released that will only have shelf life of one year... this is opposed to the current MREs that if stored correctly last for a good long time (forever) , with no ill effects other than half the food becoming difficult to eat (powdery, hard, or in the case of Tabasco, simply disappearing ). Basically the guys at Natick cooked up a biodegradable MRE bag that will not last forever once we discard it. The over all effect will be nice for active duty guys, it means when they give us MREs we won't have the sneaking suspicion that the food they're giving us is left over from the Revolutionary War, (I'm not saying that they give us old MREs, but I did once get an MRE that said "Stegosaurus Burger" on it.... ) but for long term storage for survivalists, it's not going to be great news. Although, it does mean that prices on legacy MREs should drop, once the supply suddenly goes up. - Jim

Thanks Jim for the reminder!

Thanks to everyone else that sends me e-mails with tips or information.

Get information about the new MRE packaging here:

http://www.natick.army.mil/about/pao/2004/04-21.htm


Get information about the new sip-n-zip drinking pouches here:

http://www.natick.army.mil/about/pao/pubs/warrior/04/mayjune/index.htm

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker