MREs, Survival Food, Freeze Dried Food

MREs and Other Food

What Is A MRE?

MRE stands for Meal Ready to Eat. They are a long shelf life, fully cooked and ready to eat meal developed for the military, and packaged to military standards. The Meal, Ready-to-Eat (MRE) was first served to soldiers in 1980. The MRE replaced the Meal, Individual (better known as C-Rations) which had been used since the Vietnam War. An MRE comes in a plastic pouch that is called retort packaging. The package is actually aluminum foil and plastic layered together.

Protecting the meals from oxygen and moisture, the tri-laminate foil packaging is the secret to the MRE's shelf-life. Oxygen and moisture are two primary factors in food spoilage. Oxygen scavengers absorb excess oxygen to preserve freshness. Vacuum seals keep out moisture and oxygen. Thermal process, canning in a pouch, protects entrees and fruits. Exposing the cooked meal to high heat and pressure kills any microorganisms that cause mold and spoiling.

Full meal MRE's typically include a main entree, a side dish, a desert, crackers and spread, beverage base, a spoon, and an accessory packet. All the contents are packaged inside an outer bag making them compact and easy to pack. Since its introduction, the MRE has been continuously improved. However, the "MRE" designation is popularly expanded as "Meals Rejected by Ethiopians" or "Meals Rejected by Everyone." As a result of consumer feedback from Operation Desert Shield/Storm, major customer focus improvements have been implemented to expand variety and improve acceptability, consumption, and nutritional intake to enhance performance on the battlefield.

There are currently two companies who make the military issue MREs. SOPACKO and Wornick.

MREs have approximately 1300 calories (5439 kJ) per meal with 55% of the energy from carbohydrates, 35% from fat and 15% from protein.

Military MREs - 1999 to Present

MENU - A

A meals 1-12 are: "A" series that include: #1: Grilled Beefsteak, #2: Boneless Pork, #3: Beef Teriyaki, #4: Country Captain Chicken (with a Curry Sauce), #5: Grilled Chicken, #6: Chicken w/Noodles, #7: Chicken w/Salsa, #8: Chicken and Rice, #9: Beef Stew, #10: Chili and Macaroni, #11: Pasta w/Vegetables (Vegetarian Meal), #12: Bean Burrito.

Also Included with each meal pack are crackers with peanut butter, jelly or cheese spread, a powdered hi-energy beverage (just add water), an accessory packet (chewing gum, Tabasco sauce, a handi wipe towelette, some toilet paper, GI matches, salt, sugar pepper and a spoon). Each meal comes with a flameless, water-activated heater pack. Side dish of fruit and candy sometimes.

Menu - B

The "B" menu consists of the following "entrée" selections: #13 Cheese Tortellini , #14 Pasta with Alfredo Sauce, #15 Beef Frankfurters, #16 Thai Chicken, #17 Beef Ravioli, #18 Turkey Breast with Gravy & Potatoes, #19 Beef with Mushrooms, #20 Spaghetti with Meat Sauce, #21 Chicken Stew, #22 Pork Chow Mein, #23 Chicken with Cavatelli, and #24 Meat Loaf with Gravy.

Also Included with each meal pack are crackers with peanut butter, jelly or cheese spread, a powdered hi-energy beverage (just add water), an accessory packet (chewing gum, Tabasco sauce, a handi wipe towelette, some toilet paper, GI matches, salt, sugar pepper and a spoon). Each meal comes with a flameless, water-activated heater pack. Side dish of fruit and candy sometimes.

MRE Shelf Life.

Each MRE product is date coded with a series of numbers. The numbers include the production year, and the day produced in addition to a lot number extension. Look for a number stamped on the package that looks like 9337A B02A. Ignore the lot number (B02A), and look at the first digit of the number 9337. The "9" stands for the last digit of the year, 1999.

Next look for the three following numbers. In this example, 337 represents the 337th day of the year in the Julian date calendar, or December 3rd.

MRE STORAGE LIFE CHART

Projections are that the 130 months will be surpassed. This chart contains storage life projections for MRE rations from the U.S. Army's Natick Research Laboratories and does not reflect a manufacturer's or vendor's guarantee.

NOTE: Time and temperature have a cumulative effect. For example, storage at 100°F (38°C) degrees for 11 months moved to 70°F (21°C) would lose one half of the 70°F (21°C) storage. Wornick's, a retailer of MREs, puts their shelf life at less than the Army's findings. While the Army finds MREs acceptable for over 10-1/2 years stored at 60°F (16°C) , Wornick's places their shelf life for the same temperature at 7 years.

Each box of 12 MRE meals weighs approximately 22 pounds.

MREs are shelf stable for a minimum of 3 years at 80°F (26°C) and a minimum of 6 months at 100°F (38°C). MREs are designed to withstand harsh military transportation requirements, including airdrop with and without parachutes and storage at -60°F (-51°C) up to 120°F (49°C). Chemicals and preservatives are not used to extend the shelf life of the MRE. Freezing an MRE retort pouch does not destroy the food inside, but repeated freezing increases the chances that the stretching and stressing of the pouch will cause a break in a layer of the laminated pouch. These pouches are made to withstand 1,000 flexes, but repetitive freezing does increase the failure rate by a small fraction of a percent.

Cooking With MREs

Since 1993, a flameless ration heater have been included in each MRE. The flameless ration heater lets soldiers heat their meals in the field. When soldiers add one ounce of water there is a reaction with the magnesium iron compound causing the water to boil. By placing the entree pouch into the boiling water, a hot meal will be ready in 10 minutes. The heating process produces no chemical byproducts. (See pic for heater).

The MRE spoons are made of polystyrene.

To rehydrate the beverages in each meal would require 18 - 20 fluid oz. (532-591 ml) of water.