Expired MREs. How bad can it be?

FullCaliberII · Feb 14, 2012

Well... how bad can it be for me? I have several that I recieved in some old camping/surplus gear from a buddy, with no way of knowing their life. 5 appear to be classic military issues from Right Away Foods, McAllen, TX. 3 are "Mil-Spec" by the Wornick Co, also McAllen, TX.
I know that MREs are cheap and easy to replace, but what is the risk of consuming these IF they are past their 5 yr shelf life? Will I just sh*t myself in an hour or fall over dead? Thanks guys.

Burt Gummer · Feb 14, 2012

Zero risk up to 2x the shelf life if stored in a cool dry climate. IMO only.

knuckle Head · Feb 14, 2012

I ate some that were several years past the expiration dates, no problems here, but it is all at your own risk.

The new ones I buy, I store in a very cool dry place. Just not supposed to freeze them

MREInfo.com - MRE Shelf Life

FullCaliberII · Feb 14, 2012

Thank you both. I was assuming if they were past their date AND unsafe to consume, they would look/smell/taste like it.
KnuckleHead- thanks for that link. Good info there.

skydiver · Feb 14, 2012

Years from now, they will look back and wonder how the first Zombie came into existence.
Was it a virus? Was it a chemical warfare experiment?
No...it was someone eating an out-of-date MRE!

sheepdip · Feb 14, 2012

when i was a kid me and a buddy found a whole bunch of mil surp meals in the Sisters Or. dump. apparently dumped by the forrest service. we hauled them things out and stashed them all over the woods where we played, allways had snacks to eat and would pretty much just go home at supper time. everything at that time was canned, with the little mil surp can openers. i dont have any idea how old they were at the time, [1963] but we survived just fine.