Consider Meals, Ready To Eat For Long-Term Food Storage

You can count on the military for developing a solution for long-term food storage. Meals, ready to eat have been used by the military since 1981. As self-contained individual food pages, meals, ready to eat, also known as MREs, replaced meal, combat, individual rations nearly 30 years ago. Development for MREs began nearly 20 years prior to then, however, and since they have been introduced, the prepackaged meals have gone through a few changes.



Most notably, soldiers have requested more food options, packages displaying graphics, and larger portions. In the present, meals, ready to eat have 24 possible entrée options, beverage bags that hook up to hydration packs, and 150 other items to add. Packaging for them also includes biodegradable utensils and napkins.

Having a hot meal is a concern many have with long-term food storage. With traditional dehydrated and freeze-dried foods, water is added into a package or serving. The water essentially re-hydrates the food and makes it fit for consumption, cold or hot. The food, additionally, can also be heated to be more palatable. This same approach is used for MREs. Although this type of long-term food storage requires less water, the food can also be heated in the package. A flameless ration heater (FRH), for example, is used by soldiers and others in the field to heat MREs. As a water-activated exothermic chemical heater, an FRH raises the temperature of an eight-ounce meal to 100°F and displays no visible flame.

An FRH, in fact, is part of the packaging for meals, ready to eat used by the military. Contents for a typical MRE include an entrée, side dish, a desert or snack item, crackers or bread, a cheese or sweet spread, a powdered beverage, utensils, an FRH, a beverage mixing bag, and various accessories ranging from gum and matches to napkins. Each is put together to provide a soldier with a 1200-calorie meal and has an average shelf life of five years or more.

The packaging for meals, ready to eat allows them to be used for long-term food storage in tumultuous conditions. In fact, the meals were handed out as rations in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Ike. The triple-layer foil and plastic pouches are strong enough to withstand parachute drops of 1250 feet and non-parachute drops of 98 feet.

Meals, ready to eat aren't only used by the military, however. In fact, they're used for long-term food storage [http://www.EarthWaveLiving.com] in case of a disaster. Manufacturers of emergency preparedness kits, such as Provident Pantry, have MREs packaged in food storage packages to last from three days to a year. When a disaster is approaching, you can count on MREs to supply you with food for the many weeks to years if needed. Needing only a small amount of water, MREs are packaged powerfully enough to handle various conditions you may encounter.