Looking for reviews on WSF or "food insurance".com

[conklinjeremy]

Ive been stocking up on canned food, rice, and water, but I'm looking to take it up a level....
Does anyone have any reviews for either of these companies?
I like the 25 year shelf life of WSF products. And yes I know the meat meals are only 7-8 years.
Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

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[ATCclears]

For WSF, did you mean Wise Food Storage Home page ?

My neighbor has recently ordered the meat products from them, and I'm going to get one from them and try it. I wanted a meat sample but WFS sent me the Alfredo pasta instead (which has 38% of one's daily sodium, and is high from my perspective).

I'll post a review once I try the meat sample.

Peter

 

[conklinjeremy]

That would be much appreciated. How was the pasta, other than high in sodium? Taste, and portion size?
Thx !!

 

[Working 4 U]

I just recently ordered my first case of "emergency rations" from Emergency Essentials Emergency Essentials - Be Prepared Emergency Preparedness Food Storage I felt the prices were cheaper with a better quality food. You can sign up for a monthly flyer that has some specials. I ordered the breakfast box that had eggs with bacon in it, eggs with ham in it, granola and freeze dried strawberries also came with an orange vitamin drink and powdered skim milk. It ran me 114.00, but I missed last months special for 99.00. I plan on ordering 1 or 2 cases monthly. Dont forget to get some sort of water filtration first and formost, without good water this stuff will suck the moisture right out of you.

 

[19 Adam]

Ive been stocking up on canned food, rice, and water, but I'm looking to take it up a level....

If you have an unlimited supply of $$ you can put away a lot of freeze dried food. I have supplemented the "beans and rice" with some textured vegetable protein to make the rice and beans a full meal. You can save a lot of $$ if you plan for long term survival. I hope to have enough to feed 10 for at least two years. I can not rely on anyone else to be putting long term food away so I have to put enough away to feed those that will join me in my retreat location.

 

[ATCclears]

That would be much appreciated. How was the pasta, other than high in sodium? Taste, and portion size?
Thx !!

I decided not to open the pasta, and add it to the pantry. The pasta reminded me of other products that one can purchase today in their local grocery store - everything in the bag, just add water, but very high in sodium.

Peter

 

[Emma Green]

I recently decided to invest in food storage, and just finished going through the same process you are going through. Luckily, my parents have always had a well stocked food storage and last time I went home to visit them, they allowed me to try out a couple of the different kinds that they have. The majority of their food is just canned and dehydrated. They have canned it themselves at a local cannery. I was hoping to get freeze dried food, since it has a much longer shelf life, and I am horrible at rotating through my food.

The only type of freeze dried food that my parents had was from Food Insurance. My husband and I tried a couple of the entree dishes to see how they tasted. I have to admit, that compared to any dehydrated food storage that I have tasted in the past, these were delicious. The two that my parents had us try were the Mac and Cheese with Beef, and the Fettucini Alfredo with Chicken. Both of them were very good, and I would be willing to eat them in place of a regular dinner any day.

The freeze dried meals from Food Insurance are basically divided into two types. They have long-term food storage that lasts 25 years in the #10 metal cans, and short term food storage that lasts about 7 years in smaller packages. The meat entrees are able to last the full 25 years, as long as they are stored in the unopened metal cans. Both entrees that I sampled at my parent's house were from the #10 cans, and were at least a couple of years old. They absolutely tasted like a fresh cooked meal and I would happily eat them often.

After deciding that we wanted to get our food storage from Food Insurance, my husband and I started to do the payment plan for 632 meals (their food calculator says that we will be fed for 158 days at 2 meals a day each). We started receiving one box a month 4 months ago, and I have been very pleased with it. We are putting the boxes under the bed in our spare bedroom, and I can't wait until we have all of them ready to go for whenever we might need them. Even if anything happens and my husband or I lose our jobs, at least I can rest easy knowing that we won't go hungry.

You can see more info at their website: www.foodinsurance.com. Good luck!

 

[M67]

I was just shipped a Wise Food Storage meal to try, that should arrive in a few days.

We normally use Mountainhouse for storage, hunting, camping, etc. I want to see if Wise foods, is as good or better than Mountainhouse.

M67

 

[Sun195]

I was just shipped a Wise Food Storage meal to try, that should arrive in a few days.

We normally use Mountainhouse for storage, hunting, camping, etc. I want to see if Wise foods, is as good or better than Mountainhouse.

M67

I look forward to your review - I've got mostly Mountain House stuff here. (based on my familiarity with it for hiking)

 

[darkminstrel]

It's the high sodium content that gets me. In most non-.mil MREs you've got the huge amount of salt included. Shelf life is better than a true MRE though, they've got a projected span of 7 years tops I believe.

 

[pokerace]

I'm buying from these people. Got some of the freeze dried and some of the MRE'E.

TheEpicenter.com - Emergency Preparedness Survival Food and Supplies.

 

[M67]

I received my sample from Wise Food Company yesterday.

The meal i received was Creamy Pasta and Vegetable Rotini, in a 4 Adult serving size.

Nutrition Facts as stated on the package:
Serving size 1 cup as prepared, 4 servings per container.

Amount per serving:
Calories 210, calories from fat 45.
Total fat 5g
Saturated fat 0.5g
Trans fat 0g
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium 800mg
Total carbohydrate 34g
Dietary fiber 2g
Sugars 4g
Protein 5g
Vitamin A 25%, Vitamin C 2%, Calcium 4%, Iron 8%

The Wise Food Company states their meals have a 25 year shelf life if stored at 50-55 degrees, which is not practical for most people.

The meal was sampled by 4 adult females, 1 adult male(me) and 2 teenage boys.

All of the women and i liked the meal. The boy's thought the meal was "ok", but not great, but they ate all they were given.

The pasta was tender and the peas and carrots, were firm. The chicken flavored creamy sauce was thick and tasty.
We all thought the meal would have benefitted greatly if chicken was added to the meal, which is always an option, if you have the freeze dried chicken.

I doubt this meal would fill up 4 hungry adults, since the serving size is 1 cup per person. I see this package as more of a meal for 2 adults, if it was to be served alone.

Of course the same can be said of the Mountain House 2 person meals. When i am hungry from a long morning hunt, hike, etc, i can eat a 2 person meal by myself.

I would recommend Wise Food's as a long term storage option, from the sample we tried. Just keep in mind the serving sizes and the extra food you may/will need to add to the meal.

M67

 

[darkminstrel]

What unpronounceable preservatives are in their packets?

 

[M67]

The ingredients of the Wise Food Company's Creamy Pasta and Vegetable Rotini and the Mountain House Beef Stew, for comparison.

Wise Food Company's Creamy Pasta and Vegetable Rotini.
Ingredients:
Pasta (Durum Semolina Flour (wheat)
Niacin
Ferrous Sulfate (iron)
Thiamine Mononitate
Ribofavin
Folic Acid
Food starch-Modified
Maltodextrin
Natural Tocopherols
Whey
Non Dairy Creamer
Partially Hydogenated Soybean Oil
Corn Syrup Solids
Sodium Casinate (a milk derivative)
Mono and Diglycerides
Sodium Citrate
Salt
Dipotassium Phosphate
Carrageenan
Carrots
Salt
Peas
Hydrolyzed Corn Protein
Textured Vegetable Protein (soy flour)
Guar Gum
Soybean Oil
Natural Flavors
Disodium Inosinate and Disodium Guanylate
Spices
Lactic Acid
Turmeric Extract
Contains: Milk, Soy, Wheat


The Mountain House Beef Stew.
Ingredients:
Potatoes
Cooked Beef (Beef, Salt)
Carrots
Peas
Corn Oil

Contains 2% or less of the following:
(Modified Corn Starch
Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein
Hydrolyzed Corn
Torula Brewers Yeast
Wheat Gluten
Soy Protein)

Dehydrated Onion
Sugar
Spices
Spice Extract
Soybean Oil
Garlic Powder
Contains: Wheat, Soy.

Hope this gives you an idea of what is used to manufacture/preserve each type of meal.

It seems to me, that the Mountain House meals are more natural and have less unpronounceable preservatives.

Given a choice of which company to buy from, Mountain House would be my first choice.

M67

 

[darkminstrel]

The 'Partially Hydogenated Soybean Oil' Kills it for me. Thanks for that.

 

[ATCclears]

The sodium content in both company's products is high, but it may be a necessary evil. I wish both companies would do a better job of making the nutrition labels easier to link to while looking at a product, and I wish Mountain House would include the related "% of Daily Value" metrics on their nutrition labels.

Peter

 

[ATCclears]

One more observation on the products from both companies... The calories per recommended serving aren't that much - they seem to average 200-300 per serving.

One can probably consume 2,000 calories per day and not gain a lot of weight. The needed calories may go up even more if you're really active while attempting to survive.

It means that you'll be eating a lot of sodium if these products are your primary food source. It also means you're likely to consume your supply of these products faster than expected. Plan accordingly...

As for me and back to my earlier post in this thread, I got a package of the Wise Food Storage "Beef Stroganoff" from the neighbor. I'll try it this week and post a review.

Peter

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Never buy freeze dried foods that are not in tin cans and sealed with nitrogen.. they should store at least 30 years

Taste is nothing to write home about but it may save your life

 

[M67]

Never buy freeze dried foods that are not in tin cans and sealed with nitrogen.. they should store at least 30 years

Taste is nothing to write home about but it may save your life

I'm with you on this. The cans will store for a much longer time. My main concern with cans would be rust, if exposed to moisture/humidity.

When i joined the army in 1984 we were using up the last of the C-Rations, before we were issued MRE's. Some of the C-Rations were from the early to mid 1950's and still edible. The C-Ration cans had a green coating, that must have been some kind of a rust preventative.

I have heard that wax can be used on cans to seal out moisture.

Anyone else have any ideas about rust proofing cans for long term storage?

One more observation on the products from both companies... The calories per recommended serving aren't that much - they seem to average 200-300 per serving.

One can probably consume 2,000 calories per day and not gain a lot of weight. The needed calories may go up even more if you're really active while attempting to survive.

It means that you'll be eating a lot of sodium if these products are your primary food source. It also means you're likely to consume your supply of these products faster than expected. Plan accordingly...

As for me and back to my earlier post in this thread, I got a package of the Wise Food Storage "Beef Stroganoff" from the neighbor. I'll try it this week and post a review.

Peter

I can see a person/group going through the Wise Food/Mountain House 2-3X faster than they had planned on.
I think it is a good idea to have other types of food stored as well.
Many canned goods have a 2-3 year shelf life, and they are items my family and i use daily.

I am looking foreward to your review of the Wise Food Co Beef Stroganoff.

M67

 

[Sun195]

In regard to rusty cans (which sounds like slang for something), I have a case of MH cans that are now about 12 years old. They've been stored in the garage this whole time - unheated, mostly dry, but not without some moisture (I've got tools with a bit of rust). No rust on the cans thus far.

One data point, but there you go.

And, I wouldn't use servings for anything other than figuring out how many calories per X amount of quantity. If you're eating 2,000 calories per day, and you break it out roughly into thirds, that's maybe 650-700 calories per meal, or more than three servings of that Wise creamy pasta. However, I do think it's important to know how many calories are in X quantity or it'd be easy to eat through your rations much quicker than you're anticipating.