Mountain House Longevity - Pouches

[Sun195]

Saw this on Mountain House's Facebook page - we all know their #10 cans last for 25-30 years. Now, it turns out their pouches also have a long lifespan. Before, it was thought these only lasted 7+ years. Loses some quality (and probably some nutritional value) but still edible.


I'd still choose #10 cans for long-term storage, but knowing that pouches also have a long lifespan creates some new options for food storage.

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[lowly monk]

Saw this on Mountain House's Facebook page - we all know their #10 cans last for 25-30 years. Now, it turns out their pouches also have a long lifespan. Before, it was thought these only lasted 7+ years. Loses some quality (and probably some nutritional value) but still edible.
I'd still choose #10 cans for long-term storage, but knowing that pouches also have a long lifespan creates some new options for food storage.

Have some multi vitamins and your good to go.

 

[knuckle Head]

SUN195 Good data, thanks for posting

 

[Blitzkrieg]

About 5 years max before the pouches get stale.. the cans last a LOT longer

Be VERY careful about food allergies, I cannot tolerate ANY dairy products, myself, and they are in almost everything

 

[Siglvr]

Thanks for the chart and the info!!!


About 10 years back I tried some pouches that were @ 7 years old, stored perfectly in my cool basement the whole time, and disgusting was an apt word for it. Nice to see that Mt House is trying to extend the shelf life of the stock, and appearing to be successful at it. Like you, I agree the #10 tins are the way to go for long term storage, but the pouches, being smaller are very nice. Do they say what "ambient conditions" were? As I understand it, (insert cautionary tale here) cooler storage is MUCH, MUCH better, and infact, if you put the pouch up in your un-air conditioned house, those 100 degree days in the summer that you never think about could radically shorten the shelf life of this product. Which would be a shock if you take it out on the trail and are expecting a decent dinner

 

[Sun195]

Not sure what conditions they stored these at - probably in a warehouse somewhere in their facility.

I think it's also important to note that not all of the pouches had great results. Spaghetti, Beef Stroganoff and Lasagna had the lowest average ratings, with some people rating them "moderately to extremely" dislike. Lasagna in particular had a pretty wide spread on the "like" scale. Beef Stew, Rice & Chicken and Noodles & Chicken all did much better.

As I said, I probably wouldn't buy pouches as a first-line storage item, but if I had some pouches that were getting up there in age, I wouldn't necessarily throw them out either. Could be a good back-up food or something you might trade to someone else. They are also more portable than the #10 cans and easier to prepare since you can just pour the water right into the pouch.

Another way to look at this: MH sells 72-hr and 7-day variety kits that contain pouches. If you're just getting started in food storage, these probably aren't a bad place to start if they really last longer than 5-7 years. At least you'd have a variety of easy-to-prepare meals.