MOD Ration packs

[elrond]

Does anyone know whether the date stamped on the stuff in the rat packs is the date it was packaged , the best before date or the eat by date.
just found some chicken pate ( which i love) but the date on it is 2004.

 

[w00dsmoke]

I don't know Elrond. I used rat packs for years but now there is no way I'm going back to them after I bought a load off ebay all apparently in date. I was violently sick after eating a boil in the bag pouch so be ware.

 

[mudfly9]

I've recently been given a load of ration packs from someone who works on an army base and he was told to take no notice of the dates whatsoever. I've eaten things with 2002 on it and they've been fine, I think they just stuff them full of preservatives.

 

[spamel]

I believe the shelf life is ten years, but they are still good after that. I seem to recall a pair of blokes who wanted to travel around the world using pedal power alone. They cycled on land and had a pedal powered boat made up to cross water with. They were given a job lot of out of date rations by the Army and it didn't seem to do them any harm. Remeber, you get a lot of calories from a 24 hour ration pack, it is designed that way due to the nature of working in a job where you have to run about with heavy loads shooting people! For their size, they are ideal, even if some of the items are horrible!

 

[Tadpole]

Does anyone know whether the date stamped on the stuff in the rat packs is the date it was packaged , the best before date or the eat by date.
just found some chicken pate ( which i love) but the date on it is 2004.

the date on the GP ORP (ratpack) is, according to Brig Jeff Little the packing date, (they have "at least" a three year shelf life, depending on storage)
the only varient is the GFR 10 man ratpack the date on the box is the packing date, the date on some of the contents are the best before date, but it will be marked BBF.

 

[spamel]

Before you open tha tin of pate, heat it up in hot water. Just bung the tin in and leave it for five or ten minutes. When you open the tin, the horrid film of oil and grease will be gone, soaked into the pate and it is a lot nicer!

 

[stardust]

Offer a bit of it to a cat or dog.

If they don't want it, don't eat it.

 

[sandbag47]

itv should be ok...i've never seen a use by date on compo...it's always the packing date...but i've had compo past it's use by date and it was ok

 

[elrond]

i'm suitable reassured. I'll let you know if it all goes wrong and I wake up dead.

and the advice on getting rid of the oily residue is a cracker, thanks for that.

 

[peterfedric]

Does anyone know whether the date stamped on the stuff in the rat packs is the date it was packaged , the best before date or the eat by date.
just found some chicken pate ( which i love) but the date on it is 2004.

My friend is a cadet and they often used to eat ration packs. I think that dates are date of packing. And as earlier someone said when they prepare and pack the ration pack they use good amount of preservative so you should not worry about it. But ya you can smell the ration before you eat and if it smells too bad then don't eat it otherwise no pro.

 

[rik_uk3]

The date is the packing date.

 

[andybysea]

Rat packs are iradiated as far as im aware so would require no preservetives so long as the pack remains airtight it should be fine, as all bacteria/micro-organisms etc have been killed off.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_irradiation

 

[Acorn62]

In my experience (12 years of the stuff) if it smells bad it is compo. But some of it is nostalgically yummy. Oatmeal blocks and cheese possessed, dead fly biscuits and beef spread, train crash and babies heads (snake & pigmy pud and apple pud) the MRE stuff is ok for years as long as it's not had the pouch pierced but does not lend itself to being stuffed into bags and pouched as well as the tins (stating the bleeding obvious Woody!).

Have to admit to still having some tucked away and ate some good old chicken spread on Biscuits AB whilst sitting atop the Ridgeway last week.. Still here.....

 

[PREPER]

I have eaten them when 8 years old, never had any problems.
I take the view that as long as the original packaging is sound and they have not been subjected to any extreemes of temperature, why not.
The worst that can happen is you die of food poisoning :yikes:

PREPER............

 

[RAPPLEBY2000]

I've used them for years. best advice....
try some. if it makes you i'll buy something else!

good tip about the pate! the heating trick probably works on all items The pouches food sometimes has nasty fatty deposits if eaten cold.

all in all over 20 years I've never been made ill by rat packs.

I think the Packing date is pretty much irrelevant!

"train crash and babies heads"...mmmmmm!

"processed cheese(or jam) with margarine on white bread".....mmmmmmm

"warm Tea with milk and sugar already added"...mmmmmmm

"denting the tin before boiling it"...the good ol'days!

 

[TinkyPete]

the shelf life is ten years and the dates are the packaging ones, the new rat packs come with a lot less pate and a lot more Tuna ( an in joke with the army at the minute, especially on tour) no more Yorkies (not for civies) and now its some foreign chocolate but the lucozade skreetch is good, and the meals have changed a lot, also there is an all day breakfast too which even has an omlette in it. but they have more stuff inthem too such as mini tabasco bottles and they have change the tea again as well.

 

[FGYT]

I've recently been given a load of ration packs from someone who works on an army base and he was told to take no notice of the dates whatsoever. I've eaten things with 2002 on it and they've been fine, I think they just stuff them full of preservatives.

ive got stuff i was issued in 1992 that was old then still around somewhere.

I do try and avoid using Rat pack now a days I prefer to enjoy my time out and good food is easy to do with a bit of planning. The Rat packs are relagated to emergancy stuff ie pack and forget till needed probably a few in the car with a Hexi to

ATB

Duncan