Source<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe MRE also comes with a pouch that heats the MRE, snacks, salt and pepper, and utensils.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat If An MRE Is Punctured?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nIf the packaging of an MRE is punctured, check the food inside.<\/strong> If the food pouch has been punctured recently, give it a smell test. If it still looks good, and it does not smell like it has expired or begun to mold, then it should be okay to eat it. However, if the package has begun to swell, do not eat it. <\/strong>Throw it away because the food is no longer good to eat and may cause you to become ill.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHow Long Do MREs Last?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n MREs can last up to 10 years if they are stored in the right conditions. <\/strong>While MREs are made to withstand extreme conditions, if they are stored at 100 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, they only last for six months. However, if you store them at 80 degrees or lower, then they last for around 3 years. MREs last for 5-10 years if they are stored at 60 degrees Fahrenheit or lower, which is impressive.<\/p>\n\n\n\nDo MREs Have Preserved Meat?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nMany MREs have different kinds of meat in them, and the MRE itself is preserved. <\/strong>However, the meat inside the MRE is not typically preserved separately from the other food that is inside the MRE. Before the MRE was invented, the United States military would serve the soldiers preserved and salted meat. However, the invention of the MRE packaging and technology has made that practice unnecessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\nNot all MREs have meat in them.<\/strong> There are vegetarian and Halal options served by the military. If you are a civilian that purchases an MRE outside of the military, then those options may be limited. <\/strong>Companies that manufacture MREs tend to have a smaller variety of MREs to choose from than the military does.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhy Were MREs Invented?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nMREs were invented in 1975 by the Department of Defense.<\/strong> However, they were not mass-produced until 1978 and were not delivered to soldiers until 1981. MREs were invented because the United States ration system was not the best. During WWII, soldiers carried their rations in cans, and the food preserved inside took a long time to heat because the heat had to get through the thick tin can to warm the food. <\/p>\n\n\n\nThis required soldiers to stay in one place for long periods of time to eat, which was not always possible while on the battlefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nMREs are better alternatives to canned food for soldiers because the MREs are flat and flexible, while cans are round and heavy<\/strong>. The MRE packaging is lightweight and can be squished or rolled without damaging the food inside. <\/p>\n\n\n\nCans are not flexible, and if the can is damaged, the food inside can become unsafe to eat very quickly, which is why the United States military came up with the MRE system and still uses it to this day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How Can I Tell If An MRE Is Expired?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nOn the outside packaging of an MRE, there are two circles inside one another.<\/strong> This is the internal temperature gauge, and it is used by soldiers to tell if the MRE is safe to eat or not. If the outside circle is darker than the inside one, then it should be okay to eat. <\/strong>However, if the inside circle is darker than the one surrounding it, then the MRE is no longer safe to eat and should be thrown away.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIf the packaging of the MRE is still sealed but has swelled, then the food is no longer safe to eat<\/strong> and should be disposed of immediately. This means that the MRE is expired and has become unsafe to eat.<\/p>\n\n\n\nCan I Make MREs At Home?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nIt is possible to preserve food at home, but it is not necessarily possible to make an MRE<\/strong> outside of a place that manufactures them because of all of the layers that consist of the MRE pouch. <\/p>\n\n\n\nIf you want to preserve your food, then it is possible to get a machine that vacuum-seals food, and you can make MREs that way. However, this is not considered to be an MRE because the MRE is cooked, sealed, boiled, and then sealed again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The MREs also have a pouch that has special chemicals that heat the MRE without any fire or water. These are things that are nearly impossible to get if you are a civilian. So no, you cannot make an MRE at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nHowever, it is possible to preserve your food<\/strong> at home<\/strong>. There are many different food preservation options which include the following: canning, vacuum sealing, drying, salting, freezing, etc. <\/strong>Whichever method you use, it is important to follow strict instructions on how it is to be done. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MREs, otherwise known as Meals Ready-to-Eat, are used by the United States military to feed soldiers while they are deployed. They are made to last a very long time and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":2100,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/militaryexcess.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1929"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/militaryexcess.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/militaryexcess.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/militaryexcess.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/militaryexcess.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1929"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/militaryexcess.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1929\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2978,"href":"https:\/\/militaryexcess.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1929\/revisions\/2978"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/militaryexcess.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/militaryexcess.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/militaryexcess.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/militaryexcess.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}