The hubby and I bought a few MREs at an army-navy store just for a hoot and to our surprise, they were so good we wanted to get some more. I was wondering about them though. Since they are packaged and must use bunch of preservatives, etc. to insure their long shelf life, is it a bad idea to eat them often? There is no ingredients list on the package.
There aren’t that many preservatives in them, at least compared to the usual diet of packaged foods. They stay fresh through retort(soft-can) packaging.
As for MREs…you can usually score a decent price and selection on ebay. Try to get those packaged by Sopakco. They have the full range of side dishes, and are the closest a civilian can get to “Govt. Issue.”
Do a Google search for MRE shelf life preservatives and all the sites I saw said that preservatives/chemicals/msg’s are not used.
Bon apetit.
They are really quite healthful and rather tasty- compared to C-rats, anyway. After a while they get boring, or so my buds in the military tell me.
They don’t have enough fiber. There is a UL that the gum is a laxative- it’s not. (Although some gum did use Sorbitol which can sometimes have a laxative effect, depending on your bowels and how much you chew).
I give them a very strong recommendation as “emergency rations” or what we Californians call “earthquake rations”. 
My family got a bunch of them this past hurrican season. We found them pretty good. The only thing is that they seem to be pretty high-calorie.
They’re meant to be high calorie because the intended consumers are likely to be very physically active, and may not have time for more than one or two meals in a day.
I’ve liked most of the ones I’ve eaten, but it’s been quite a while since I’ve tried them. The base commissary used to sell cases of them that were approaching the expiration date, and I could get them at a pretty good price.
Yes. We had to keep reminding my father of this, because he seemed to enjoy them a bit too much.
IIRC, MREs range from about 1200 to 1800 calories per pack. :eek: Two should be in excess of what the average adult needs to consume by about 40%. They’re also high in carbs (~50%) and fats (~35%), and as previously mentioned, low in fiber.
They’re fine for a few days of emergency rations (and a vast improvement upon C-rats) but I wouldn’t want to make a habit of eating them.
Stranger
If they are a great improvement of C rations I must try them. I thought C rations were pretty good.
Ditto. I’d be more worried about the number of calories than the shelf life. After all, they are made for people who spend all day on foot packing a hell of a lot of weight on their backs.
A colleague of mine that did several years with the BAOR swears that the British equivalents of MREs were intended to block you solid for 3 days so you wouldn’t need to take off your combat gear when the Warsaw pact came rolling through.
After 3 days it would all be over one way or the other and you woud be either dead or free to enjoy a fantastic bowel movement. No idea if this was true or not, but he does enjoy repeating it.
More healthful than C-Rats? What was wrong with C-Rats? I ate them when I was in the Army. They were just canned food. No difference that I could taste between C-Rat spaghetti and Chef Boyardi or Franco-American, for example. I’ve eaten MRE’s a few times and they were okay. No better or worse than C-Rats. It seems to me their primary advantage is the retort package makes them easier to stow in your load bearing gear than the old fashioned cans.
The new MREs are a whole different thing from C-rations and LRRP rats. The US Army introduces two new menus each year, and are spending a lot of time and effort to get the GI opinion of what goes into MREs. The latest additions are Cheese and Vegetable Omelette, Chicken Fajitas, and Sloppy Joes. But no matter how good they get, the Tabasco is still necessary sometimes. 
Some of the MREs are pretty good. Some are pretty bad. Most are decent. Eat them long enough, though, and you will get major bowel blockages. Then it all comes out at once. 
One of the most entertaining afternoons I’ve had was at the Army Museum (British Army) in Chelsea, London, 2003. There was a scheduled talk by an officer from the supply side, who was an expert in nutrition, about the British Army’s field ration packs, with an emphasis on the Gulf War (1).
We find the lecture room, sit comfortably, with several tables of cardboard boxes full of the ORPs (operational ration packs) at the front of the room. A grizzled, broken-nosed, heavily tattooed sergeant steps up. The officer who was to have given the talk couldn’t make it, and the sergeant was tasked with filling in at the last minute.
Pure gold. This guy was a typical British Army old sweat, who had seen and done it all, and had more genuine stage presence than most modern professional entertainers. We had a talk that was more like that given to a squad of recruits: funny, informative, and laced with fairly unsavoury comments (though he did try to moderate his language, as there were some kids present–he tended to forget, though, as he got into his stride.)
The highlight of the talk was a very detailed, TMI account of how the average squaddie makes 4 little squares of toilet paper go so far.
It was great, and no doubt far more memorable than the talk we would have received from the nutritional expert officer.
Interestingly, the British Army supplies a lot of special meals, including Kosher, Halal, Sikh/Hindu, and Vegetarian, reflecting the complex background of current recruits. There are also added bonuses like packets of hot sauce and Worcester sauce. There were dishes like Chicken Tikka, Lamb Stew, Treacle Pudding, and of course, plenty of tea.
He handed out the combat chocolate bars (I got the hot weather one, more pressed fruit than chocolate).
Not to stray too far into TMI, but I can personally reinforce the not take a poo idea for about three days. When I went to search and rescue school with the Civil Air Patrol, we were fed two MRE’s a day for 8 days. I vividly remember dropping a duce the first day right before we started, then not taking a poo for about three days, and then having the most satisfying BM of my life early the 4th morning.
The aseptic packaging ensures the long shelf life. As with canned food, there’s no need for preservatives; the package is the preservative.
The MREs you bought may have been old; newer packaging usually has an ingredient list, and often nutritional info as well. Some army-navy stores are still selling MRE menu items that were discontinued years ago. This site explains the MRE dating codes, which are useful to know about.
Addendum: I’ve found Long Life Food Depot (www.longlifefood.com) is a good source for new MRE items. VERY fast service IME. There is a minimum order, but it’s only $22 and they’ll happily ship you one each of any number of items, so you can try several and then stock up on the good ones. Availability of items does vary depending on military deployments and natural disasters.
Thank you, my people!