Civilian vs Military MRE’s
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Survival
MRE stands for Meal, Ready-to-Eat. While a lot of preppers like to get their hands on MRE’s from the U.S. military, there are a couple of reasons that you may be better off buying civilain MRE’s
WHY Civilian MRE’s are a better option:
- The commercial sale of Civilian MRE’s is not restricted as are sales of like the military MREs.
- You can buy from legitimate dealers, not eBay sellers who may be selling you old MRE’s
- Better storage – We ave heard of some military MRE’s that have been in a war zone for months or years before making there way onto Ebay. Who wants to eat something that has been laying around in the desert for the last year?
List of the Top Civilain MRE’s
- Sure-Pak 12 Military Ready To Eat Complete Meals
These are one of the Top MRE’s on the market and probably the closest to actual military MRE’s
- Mountain House #10 Can Freeze-Dried Food
- Mountain House 72-Hour Emergency Meal Kit
- 2400 Calorie ER Bar – Emergency Food Ration (4 Pack)
- Mainstay Emergency Food Rations – Case of 10 Packs
Guy on Fri, 2nd Jan 2009 5:14 am
Wow, with this post you have lost all your credibility. The thing about an MRE is that after a year or 2 in a war zone they are still good. That is why people seek them out.
Robert on Sat, 3rd Jan 2009 11:44 am
Thanks for the comment, but I don’t trust anything that has been in a war zone for any length of time. And I have a couple reasons for this…..
1. Even the best MRE’s are going to be effected by the harsh heat in the desert. The U.S. Army’s NATIC Research Laboratories have done numerous tests on the shelf life of MRE’s. They found that when exposed to heat over 100 degrees they lasted less than two years while MRE’s stored at around 70 degrees were good for at least 100 months.
These are the military findings NOT MINE! So I hope this helps you a little with my credibility. The fact is the heat in a desert warzone will effect the shelf life of your MRE’s
2. A lot of crazy stuff happens in war zones including chemicals that can get on the packaging, I don’t know about you but after seeing all the people come back from Iraq with mysterious illnesses, I tend to think that eating something that has been sitting over there may not be so safe.
3. Quality – The quality of everything the military gets is ussually crap, that’s why so many service men and women end up being forced to buy there own gear to bring with them (knifes, food, Bullet proof vests, etc….) The sad truth is the government treats the military like crap. I just don’t trust them enough to believe that the MRE’s are any better than the civilian version. The civilian MRE companies have to worry abut lawsuits from an unsafe product the military doesn’t.
4. Counterfeit MRE’s – There is no way to know that what your buying online is in fact even a military MRE’s. Personally I wouldn’t trust someone on EBAY or some thrown together website with my food supplies!
Antonio on Sat, 3rd Jan 2009 11:24 pm
I agree with Robert. that other guy is an a#@hole
Dennis on Sun, 4th Jan 2009 10:04 am
Thank you for the clarification.
john on Tue, 9th Mar 2010 7:51 pm
not all MREs been the dirt (OIF&OEF) MRE are given out during training ops. ops that go down all over the us
Mrs. S on Mon, 7th Jun 2010 6:41 pm
Don’t take cross contamination so lightly.
I’m gluten intolerant. It’s an auto-immune disease. My body will attack anything with wheat, rye or barley products in it, including the lining of my gut and skin should I eat or apply them to my skin, and then I can’t absorb vitamins and minerals properly. For years I had no overt symptoms other than chronic fatigue, and seizures until last year when I developed edema, pellagra and a goiter all at the same time.
Guess what? Just about every MRE or packaged emergency food item will basically kill me – sometimes just from the labels and packaging where starch was used to size the paper. Starch, like that used on military uniforms, might be transfered from the packaging directly to the food or
to my hands and then to the food.
And NO !!!! I didn’t believe it either but the Doc has cut me off cold turkey. Can’t use any paper products because they might have been contaminated with starch at the plant. The whole idea is so wild, I was going to get a T-shirt that says: “TP is killing me!” or maybe “Guns don’t kill people. Books kill people!” but the Doc said I’d have to get my SO to wash it first.