..."These are a few of my favorite things...."

I know we have a links section at the bottom of the page, but I wanted to add some sites I happen to think are very useful tools for those of you who are interested.

I studied Nutritional and Food Science at Michigan State University. I love food. I really, really love food. But you can't take it for granted. Dave's wiki is a good source for basic, easy to understand information about storing canned goods, shelf-life, etc.


http://aiki.pbwiki.com/Canned+Food+Storage+Tips

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We have talked about having a variety of food types available. Our family also has MRE's (Meals Ready to Eat) on hand. They are perfect for our grab and go bags, and when stored correctly, they have a fairly long shelf life. Below is some info on MRE's. I lost the original link, but I had the info saved in a folder.




Originally designed for the U.S. government, these compact pouches contain delicious ready to eat foods. MRE's have been used since the 1970's in the U.S. Space Program, Military, Forest Service and FEMA. In more recent years, many foreign governments have started using these versatile foods.

A main concern in the development and testing of rations for the U.S. government has always been shelf life. All MRE foods are packaged in triple-layer plastic/aluminum pouches that have better storage qualities than heavy cans, with no need for a can opener. The food in these pouches is precooked and sealed at a high temperature so that bacteria is neutralized and the food will be shelf stable even when stored at room temperature. Some of the best information available on MRE shelf life is the storage life chart (see below) compiled by the U.S. Army's Natick Research Laboratories. This chart provides a good overview and summary of the findings gathered from their testing of MRE products.

Storage Temperature(°F) Months of Storage
120................................1
110°...............................5
100°...............................22
90°................................55
80.................................76
70°................................100
60°................................130

Note: Below 60° - not enough data yet collected, however, projections are the 130 month storage life will be extended.


Note: Time and temperature have a cumulative effect. For example, storage at 100° for 11 months then removed to storage at 70° would lose one-half of the 70° storage life. Also avoid fluctuating temperatures, in and out of freezing levels. Due to the cumulative effect of time and temperature, a regular rotation of MRE's within 5 to 7 years is recommended.


More About MRE Shelf Life
The shelf life ratings shown in the chart on the front of this paper were determined by taste panels -panels of "average" people, mostly office personnel - at the Natick lab. Their opinions were combined to determine when a particular component, or in this case the entire MRE ration, was no longer acceptable.


The shelf life determinations were made solely on the basis of taste, as it was discovered that acceptable nutritional content and basic product safety would extend way beyond the point where taste degradation would occur. This means the MRE's would be safe and give a high degree of food value long after the timing suggested in the chart.


MRE pouches have been tested and redesigned where necessary according to standards much stricter than for commercial food. They must be able to stand up to abuse tests such as obstacle course traversal in field clothing pockets; storage outdoors anywhere in the world; shipping under extremely rough circumstances (such as by truck over rocky terrain); 100% survival of parachute drops; 75% survival from free failure drops; severe repetitive vibration (1 hour a t G vibration); 7,920 individual pouch drops from 20 inches; and individual pouches being subject to a static load of 200 pounds for three minutes.


Freezing an MRE retort pouch does not destroy the food inside, but repeated freezing increases the chance that the stretching and stressing of the pouch will cause a break on a layer of the laminated pouch. These pouches are made to withstand 1,000 flexes, but repetitive freezing does increase the failure rate by a small fraction of a percent. Also if MRE food is frozen, then thawed out, it must be used the same as if you had thawed commercial food from your own freezer at home.

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Our family utilizes a large supply of dehydrated/freeze-dried foods. The main attraction to us is the shelf-life. I gleaned this info from another site long ago. Don't remember what site I got it from, but again, very practical information.


Dehydrated Food Shelf Life
There are many factors that can affect the storable life of your dry and dehydrated bulk food. Please take the time to read this information page if you are not aware of how foods are packed and how they should be stored.

Dehydration techniques have come a long way in recent years. Old technology left as much as 30% moisture in the dehydrated products. These poorly dehydrated foods didn't store very well. Recent advancements in technology have made significant improvements, with moisture levels now at 2% or 3%. Gone are the pliable dehydrated foods. Now they break with a crisp "snap" when bent.
With moisture levels reduced to 2%-3%, storage life has been increased several years. Cans of 8 year old dehydrated carrots and onions taste as good as freshly dehydrated carrots and onions. These had previously been stored in a warm garage for at least 3 years. 15 year old potato flakes were tested with positive and impressive results.

Don't expect dehydrated vegetables to taste exactly like their fresh or canned counterparts. Generally speaking, dehydrated foods won't have quite as strong a flavor as fresh foods. Almost in every case, however, after adding a little butter and salt and pepper, prepared, dehydrated food is every bit as tasty and sometimes even better tasting than canned vegetables.

Non-vegetable foods (grains, spagehetti, etc.) taste every bit as good as what you've come to expect. In fact, bread mixes, muffins mixes, pancake mixes are excellent, some of the best tasting products available.



Storage Temperature

It is important to keep in mind that not only do colder temperatures affect shelf life of food products, temperature fluctuations affect shelf life too. Keeping your food stored at a constant temperature will help you acheive the maximum shelf life. As you can see from the above chart, it is not that hard to obtain 10+ years on your food storage. Finding a cool, dry location, such as a basement or root cellar is perhaps your best insurance on maximizing the shelf life on your stored foods.

Storage Life & Temperature

Temperature and temperature changes have the most to do with the shelf life of stored food then any other factor. The USDA states, "Each 5.6 C. (10.08F) drop in temperature doubles the storage life of the seeds." Experience has shown that this applies to foods too.
Temperature Years
37.6.........40
48.4.........30
59.2.........20
70.0.........10
80.8..........5
91.6........2.5
102.4......1.25


Foods that will be prepared and consumed rapidly don't need any special storage requirements. Such foods can be stored at room temperatures with no appreciatable loss of quality or nutrition. The above chart demonstrates that bulk food can be stored in warm areas for several years. We don't recommend this for businesses and individuals that are plan to store food for long lengths of time.



Moisture Content

Many products, such as dry beans, grains, and flours contain an average amount of 10% moisture. Although it is not necessary (and very difficult) to remove all moisture from dry food, it is important that any food stored be stored as dry as possible. Excess moisture can ruin your food stored.



Oxygen Content

Oxygen can be removed from the food storage container, resulting in the food lasting much longer then normal. Oxygen, naturally found in air will oxidize many food compounds. There are a couple of techniques used to remove oxygen from food containers:
Displacing the oxygen with nitrogen: Air is purged out by inserting a nitrogen wand into the bucket. Nitrogen is the most inert gas known.
Absorb the oxygen: Oxygen absorber packet absorb the oxygen. Air contains about 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen, leaving about 1% for the other gasses. The oxygen is absorbed, leaving about 99% pure nitrogen in a partial vacuum.


An air tight seal on the food storage container is a must.

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BYU has done a study on the shelf life of dehydrated food and the nutritional values. It is a good read. Below is the link.



http://ce.byu.edu/cw/womensconference/archive/2005/sharing_stations/pdf/52a.pdf

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This is enough to get you started with your food storage plan. Hope you find it helpful.

~D