To simply answer you question freeze dried food can last 25-30 years! In order to make you understand how freeze dried food can last so long its best to know the process of how food is freeze dried.
An MRE heater is a little bag designed specifically for heating MRE entrees. They are self-contained, and all you need is water (or any liquid for that matter)! It is an aluminum-lined polyethylene bag with a magnesium-combination filler at the bottom of the pouch. I’ve personally used these bags a many times and they are wonderful (and HOT!)! These heaters are perfect for heating entrees, and with how hot they get I’d say you might even be able to stretch it for 2 entrees or your side dish!
It is never safe to drink water from a source that has not yet been treated or you are unsure of. (For Example: water from a stream, lake, river, pond etc.) These sources of water especially could be contaminated with a variety of biological or chemical contaminates, including bacteria and parasites (such as Giardia) that may cause diseases such as dysentery, cholera, typhoid, and hepatitis.
The term “food storage” is used rather loosely in the emergency preparedness industry. Depending on who is sharing the information it can mean anything from a pail of beans to the canned food in your pantry. I want to briefly outline for you the different types of food storage and make you aware of their pros and cons.
One of my most commonly addressed subjects that the general public doesn’t seem to know much about is water storage. Storing water is one
of the most overlooked items in emergency preparedness, but it is easily one of the most important. Water is commonly one of the first things to become contaminated after a disaster, but it is essential to living. Death caused by dehydration can occur in 5 days or even less inhot weather, but drinking water isn’t the only thing we need to be prepared with. We also use water to clean injuries, cooking and eating supplies, and for personal hygiene.
As you work on you emergency preparedness it is important to understand the new vocabulary. Terms that you hear quite a bit are “Shelter in Place” and “Grab and Go”. It is important to make sure you have emergency supplies that allow you to do both. Depending on the disaster and depending on the circumstances surrounding the disaster you may need to “Shelter in Place” or you may need to evacuate or “Grab and Go”.
You have heard it said that the first 72 hours after a disaster are the most critical. This is the time frame when action needs to be taken in order to save lives. Unfortunately, in major disasters there is a good chance that outside help will not reach you until 72 hours. More than likely you will be on your own. The question then becomes, how do I survive the first 72 hours after a disaster?
This is a question that I hope none of you ever have to find out about in real life. In my opinion, water is the most overlooked item in our emergency supplies. In general, a healthy person can survive weeks without food. But you won’t survive nearly that long without water.
This is an interesting question and there is a lot of misunderstanding out there as to how long you need to boil
water to make it safe to drink. First, let me say that boiling is the best way to make your water safe to drink. The problem with it is, boiling requires a lot of fuel which might not be readily available in an emergency and it takes a lot of time to boil the water and allow it to cool. Continue reading…
I get this one all the time. People have heard lots of stories about MREs, some of them good, most of them bad. I have tried a lot ofMREs in my day and I am a pretty honest critic of food (ask my wife!). The truth is MREs are about as good as any canned food that you would buy in the store. If you can eat canned chili or Chef Boyardee, than you will be able to eat most MREs. Continue reading…
