outdated freeze dried food...

[mrakes02]

I was given a couple of freeze dried meals to take on the trail from a family friend. They are all past they're due dates, some are up to three and four years old. Anyone ever consumed post dated freeze dried meals? Any opinions would be greatly appreciated.

[HiKen2011]

I was given a couple of freeze dried meals to take on the trail from a family friend. They are all past they're due dates, some are up to three and four years old. Anyone ever consumed post dated freeze dried meals? Any opinions would be greatly appreciated.

I have! Didn't make me sick but you can tell it's old.

[HiKen2011]

I have! Didn't make me sick but you can tell it's old.

No meat though!

[StubbleJumper]

Well, to start, I always remind people that it's a "best before" date, but that doesn't mean it's a "no good after" date. It's a very important distinction. I eat all kinds of food that have passed their date, including milk and eggs.

The second thing to think about is what do you think will happen to freeze dried food to make it ineligible for consumption? Fluid milk gets full of bacteria and spoils....fresh eggs can eventually rot...bread or cheese can go mouldy. But what can reasonably happen to freeze dried food? Maybe it could go stale or perhaps any oil or fat could go rancid? In either case, it would result in an off-tasting meal, but it probably wouldn't kill you.

Normally I take one or two extra meals with me when I backpack because it provides some flexibility in case you don't make as many miles as planned or the weather is worse than expected. I'd tend to take the "expired" food with me, and if it tastes like ***** then dump it and cook up one of the spare meals.

[mrakes02]

Thank You, I'm going to eat them given they don't smell like my shoes

[DamnYankee]

[QUOTE=StubbleJumper;1179349]Well, to start, I always remind people that it's a "best before" date, but that doesn't mean it's a "no good after" date. It's a very important distinction. I eat all kinds of food that have passed their date, including milk and eggs.

Excellent point,

It is more of a quality factor than a food safety concern, the water activity is so low that nothing much can reasonably grow in the food to make you ill. Items being three years old have probably just passed any manufacturers "best if used by date" if the storage conditions were appropriate then the foods will still be good, and fine to eat.

US Army Food Inspector ;-) HOOAH

[Lilred]

I recently ate a box of Mac and cheese, the kind that has the cheese sauce pouch, dated 2009. It was fine.

[Sly]

Thank You, I'm going to eat them given they don't smell like my shoes

That's the criteria I generally use!

[Skid.]

I was in the military from '71-'77. We used to get C-rations, with crackers, canned fruit, and even Pall-Mall cigarettes that had to be at least 20 years old. Depends on how hungry you are.

[Kerosene]

I've consumed a bunch of freeze-dried food that was more than 5 years old without ill effects beyond the typical excess gas I get from eating freeze-dried foods. Just make sure that the packaging is intact.

[Fiddleback]

I had a relative that stockpiled freeze dried food 'just in case.' While he didn't believe in zombie invasion I think he actually was worried about 'civil unrest' and the breakdown of normal life in the San Antonio area...or at least what passes for normal life in SA. He was much chagrined, I think, when I pointed out that such civil unrest would probably disrupt utilities which include the water...water which he had failed to stockpile along side his freeze dried food.

Years passed and I ended up inheriting the cases of freeze dried food. Within a couple years I returned to backpacking after a long absence and on my first trip in my new home region, I took a couple of the vintage entrees. Specifically, they were of military origin but I think I remember a Mountain House fine-print marking. When I opened/cooked up the first one, a beef and rice mixture, I noticed an odd smell. But, hey, it's freeze dried right? What can possibly go bad? The odd smell was soon accompanied by an odd taste belying the adage, 'everything tastes good after a long day of hiking.' I didn't get sick but my night featured long and repetitive belches. I too was much chagrined.

When I returned home and reviewed my now diminished value-inheritance I tried to determine how old the food was given what I knew of its purchase history. I concluded that the newest food had been stockpiled 13 years including the time I had it. The oldest was probably well over 20. That food went to waste. I wasn't going to repeat my trail experience again and I couldn't tell which of the food was off without opening it.

Not that the loss of that inheritance left me poorer...it left me wiser.

FB

[Wise Old Owl]

I recently ate a box of Mac and cheese, the kind that has the cheese sauce pouch, dated 2009. It was fine.

That's because its not food - its a byproduct chemical mixture of food colorant and cardboard 2nds. Sort of like a twinkie.