This might be of interest
I contacted the MRE Depot about the shelf life of some of their products because they don't consistently specify it in the descriptions. I was primarily interested in stuff that could last over 20 yrs.
I happen to like and have stocked Mountain House #10 cans (30 yr shelf life) but am always looking for other options.
Customer service at the Depot was awfully nice and offered to email me some info which I found very informative. Here's what they said:
Hello,
Thank you for your interest in our products. Let me tell you a little about some of our more popular items that have long shelf-lives.
Flour and Rice are big no-nos as far LONG term storage. White Flour + Rice will last about 15yrs. Whole Wheat flour + Brown Rice last about 10years due to the oils that are in them.
Anything with dairy in the ingredients is also not a good bet for long term storage. But we carry Red Feather Cheese that will last about indefinitely due to the fact that it contains relatively low moisture then most cheese and it is real dairy mixed with pasteurized.
Some food products simply have too high of a moisture content and wont sustain more then 5years. And, another fact is that most food items that you find in the grocery store will last a lot longer then their expiration date (assuming they have a low moisture content and contain no dairy). The reason for expiration dates is because most products aren’t sealed properly (even vacuumed sealed plastic wont last more then 10years because plastic is porous and deteriorates releasing toxins) or if they are sealed properly don’t have a government approved study proving the long term life.
-our meats (bacon and all Yoders products)
-HJ wismann butter
- Red Feather cheese
-LUrPs
-Pilot Breadßthere is an exhibit of pilot bread in a Florida museum dating back to 1862
-Cereal
-Macaroni + Cheese
The list above are all our products that were commercially canned and microbiologically safe to eat for 20+ years. They begin to expire the minute the seal on the can is compromised. Our bacon, for instance, doesn’t have an expiration date on it because we proved in a study that it can basically outlive us!! I personally wish we could do that with all of our meats but we just don’t have the funds for it…yet! Bottom line is if you store your cans in optimal conditions they will outlive you.
Sincerely,
Tina Bush
MRE depot
942 Calle Amanecer Suite B
San Clemente, CA 92673
TEL: 949-366-9484
FAX: 949-366-9945