Survival Food – Freeze Dried & MRE

Freeze Dried Foods
By Geo Genesis Macana

Freeze dried foods are perfect for any type of emergency. Whether for life threatening emergencies, or when you just need to prepare a quick meal for surprise guests, you will surely have something easy to prepare and to eat on such situations.

Freeze dried products are also called survival food. They are food that has undergone a special preservation process which involves removing all its moisture content which will extend its shelf life for up to a few months and even to a year. This process of preservation can be dated back to ancient times but is done today with modern equipment.

Freeze dried foods are one of the best types of survival food available in the market today for many reasons. Being able to last in storage is one thing. When no one really knows when an emergency or calamity could strike, it helps to be prepared. So whether disaster strikes this month or the next, having stock of edible survival food at home that is ready to prepare and eat is a great survival plan. Emergencies too might last longer than a few days, or even for weeks. And because of this, your food stocks must be able to last just as long. With freeze dried foods, just as long as they are stored properly (away from contaminants and moisture) they will last just as long as you have to.

Products such as these, apart from its extended shelf life, are also some of the most nutritious ones available. The drying process food undergoes allows it to retain much of its nutritious contents and minerals which would be lost if preserved through other means. This is an important factor when it comes to choosing survival food. In an emergency, or even on ordinary days, your nutrition is very important. With freeze dried foods, you will always know that what you are eating or have stored at home is healthy for you and your family.

Available in a wide variety of flavors and food types, freeze dried products are never boring. They come in a great selection of flavors you can choose from, whether you are looking for fruits, meat, vegetables, and up to even whole cuisines and recipes.

Freeze dried foods are one of the most versatile preserved food out there. They are nutritious, healthy; they come in a variety of tastes, and will last in your pantry or storage room for a long time. Stock up on your favorite flavors now!

Freeze Dried Foods

Your Food Storage

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By Chris Haven

Freeze Drying is the process used to remove most all water from food. It removes on average 98% of water content. The freeze dry process is different from dehydration. The main difference between dehydrated and freeze dry food is how it is dried. Although the process is more complicated than the few steps that I’ll detail the basic process of freeze dried food is that it’s first flash frozen and then put into a vacuum chamber that dries the food. When dehydrating food, the food is also placed into a drying chamber where air removes the water. Both techniques yield great results and either method is used depending on the type of food that needs to be dried. Different foods are better suited for freeze drying vs. dehydrating and visa-versa. Fresh vegetables work better to freeze dry where noodles are better dehydrated. Here are some of the key benefits:

1. State – It keeps the foods original flavor, nutritional and dietary value and it’s food color, size and shape. The food is maintained just as it was before the freeze dry process, just without all of the water.

 

2. Size – This process reduces the size of the food and in turn the amount of space required to store it. This allows for companies that make food freeze dried to package the food in unique and often space saving packaging.

 

3. Weight – With nearly all of the water removed, the weight is dramatically reduced. This creates a very portable product. Something you could stick in a backpack for an overnight camping trip and not even know it’s there.

 

4. Shelf Life – In the freeze dry state, the food can carry a very long shelf life. It greatly reduces food spoilage. For this reason, bulk freeze dried food is commonly used for emergency food storage.

Another huge benefit is when it comes time to prepare a meal consisting of freeze-dried ingredients, water is all that is required to reconstitute the contents back to its original form. The process of freeze drying food has to be done right and it’s essential to look for a dried food supplier or manufacturer that is reputable and can provide this long term food storage option. Some of these companies are taking the freeze dried and dehydrated food products and using professional chefs to create gourmet food entrees and meals specifically designed for the dried freeze process. In summary, freeze dried food has a lot of benefits even for the everyday Joe like myself and believe it or not, it can actually taste really good.

A great resource for Freeze Dried Food – http://www.survivalistfood.com

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Freeze Dried Food For Long Term Food Storage – Learn the Basics and Benefits

By Charles ONeill

More and more people are becoming aware of the need to prepare themselves and their families in case of emergencies. With everything from earthquakes to hurricanes to terrorist attacks to pandemics threatening us, it just makes sense to have a store of emergency preparedness supplies on hand.

One of the most important things you can do to prepare is to ensure you have a cache of survival foods on hand. But many people get confused as to what options they have.

You want something that is edible, tastes good, will keep for years (so you don’t have to keep replacing it) and has all the vitamins and nutrients you need from your food.

One very popular option with urban survivalists is freeze dried foods.

What are freeze dried foods?

Freeze drying is a process where food is cooked and then flash frozen. After it’s been flash frozen, it is brought to a lower temperature to help evaporate any ice and as much of the food’s moisture as possible.

The food is then placed in a sealed moisture and oxygen-proof package to help ensure freshness when it is opened.

Once water (hot or cold) is replaced in food that is freeze dried, the food regains it’s original flavor, aroma, texture and appearance.

This also has the benefit of tasting good – unlike many of the space-man type of prepackaged survival foods that have been sold for years. And if you have a family, getting them to eat food is going to be a challenge if the food doesn’t taste good.

Why Freeze Dried Food?

With foods that are freeze dried you keep the freshness, color and aroma, as well as maintaining both a long shelf-life and reduced weight (because of the removal of water).

Food that is freeze dried also gives you advantages over frozen food, dehydrated food or canned goods.

Foods that use the freeze dried method do not require lower temperatures for storage, don’t lose there freshness over time as easily as canned goods, and they maintain their flavor and texture over dehydrated foods.

Another benefit to freeze drying food is that it’s lighter than traditional canned goods or even MRE’s (meals ready to eat). This means you can easily transport it in a backpack or boogie bag if you need to evacuate your home in a hurry.

What Options Do You Have For Long Term Food Storage?

You can get Freeze Dried emergency food in a variety of packages. Many companies offer several weeks of food up to a year’s worth of food. You can get food for 1 person or even up to 10 people. Most packages are easily stackable and have at least a shelf life of 10+ years.

You also want to look for packages that are easily storable somewhere. The last thing you want to do is have all this food laying out in your basement for your visitors to see. (Guess who’s door they’ll be knocking on at the first sign of emergency).

Because of this, several emergency food companies offer their freeze dried meals in space saving containers you can place under your bed or off in an inconspicuous corner of your basement.

So those are some advantages of using freeze dried foods for long term emergency food storage. They taste good, preserve their freshness and last a long time. Plus they’re light if you need to carry several weeks worth of meals with you and many packages can be stored so they don’t attract attention from nosy neighbours.

Want more options? See Freeze Dried Food for more suggestions and tips on survival food.

Or visit Food Insurance for freeze dried foods with a 25 year shelf life.

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Food Preparedness has never been more essential.

As weather gets more unpredictable and extraordinary, people who thought they lived somewhere that they would never need a survival food reserve are thinking differently.

Having a food reserve for your family is now practical advice and no longer extreme.  However when you may need to have reserves of food available is hard to predict.

You can’t predict the unpredictable.

But you can be better prepared with a very long lasting food reserve that will be there when you need it.

Mountain House, the largest makers of freeze dried food in the world have launched a “Connect with Mountain House Online!” campaign.

If you join their Twitter feed or Facebook group you get information updates and discount offers.

Facebook Twitter

They also have a YouTube Channel.

http://www.youtube.com/MountainHouseMeals

Survival Foods – 3 Options You Have to Prepare For Emergency

By Charles O’Neill

In times of distress, natural disaster or even terrorist attacks, survival foods are one of the most important things to have on hand.

Having enough food to eat will help you and your family survive most emergency situations. Survival foods can also help you in case of a job loss or in the case of an illness or pandemic where you don’t want to leave your home.

Most people today are taking steps to make sure they have a supply of survival foods on hand. What are your options? Here are 3 different types of survival food to consider with advantages and disadvantages of each:

#1 Can or Preserve your Own Food

If you are the Martha Stewart type, have hours of free time, or have nothing better to do on the weekend, then canning or preserving your own food might be for you.

The advantage to this option is that you can choose what kinds of foods to have on hand and preferably choose something you’d actually enjoy eating. You might also save a bit of money doing it this way as well.

The disadvantage is of course time. If you’re like most people, you don’t have much free time after work and the thought of preserving food all weekend doesn’t excite you.

Plus you have to be aware of the shelf life of this food – probably around 1 – 2 years at best. So you’ll have to make sure you eat your preserved food and add in some more newer foods as time goes by.

#2 Dehydrated Foods

You can dehydrate your own foods with a food dehydrator. This option gives you a little more variety and again, you get to choose foods that you like to eat.

Many of the higher end food dehydrators have timers so you can “set and forget”, which make things a little easier. I consider dehydrated foods more of a short term food storage item, as you should (according to some sources) consume them within 1 year of making them.

Experts also recommend that any dehydrated meats be placed in a freezer to help them from spoiling.

You may also need to place your newly dehydrated foods in the freezer right after dehydration for a few days to help reduce the possibility of insect contamination.

Again the two issues you may have with dehydrating food is preparation time – which can be long, and shelf life – which can be quite short.

#3 Freeze Dried Foods

You can also buy prepackaged freeze dried food that is easy to stack and store.

Freeze dried meals that are easy to prepare are one of your best options for survival foods. Most meals only require you to add water – which in an emergency situation might be all you have.

Plus in a true emergency if you have young children, the simpler the meal is to make, the better. You can ask them to help (this will also keep them distracted from the problems outside).

And contrary to how the name sounds freeze dried foods can taste remarkably good. Some companies have made their freeze dried foods almost to gourmet levels.

For example you can get Chicken a la King, Italian wedding soup with meatballs, vegetable stew with beef, and even blueberry pancakes.

Plus unlike the two options above, some freeze dried survival foods have a shelf life of 25+ years (depending on storage temperature). So as a long term food storage option they fit the bill.

Basically all you do is store them in a cool dry spot, and inspect them on a regular basis.

So those are 3 options for having survival foods on hand in case of emergency. No matter how you choose to prepare yourself, it’s important that you do take some steps to have food on hand should you be stranded in your home and/or unable to find food.

Being properly prepared can mean the difference between barely surviving and thriving should the worst happen.

Want more options? See Survival Foods for more suggestions and tips on emergency preparedness.

Or visit Food Insurance for freeze dried foods with a 25 year shelf life.

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Food preparedness is the logical choice when confronted with real tangible risks.

Why would anyone spend all their resources to prepare for high impact low probability events, while neglecting local significant probability and high impact preparedness?

Live in an seismically active area – be prepared for earthquakes  (Freeze dried food & water)

Live in a coastal area that has hurricane disasters every 50 years – be prepared (Freeze Dried Food & Water)

Live in a coastal area that has hurricane disasters every 20 years – be prepared (MRE)

Worried about flu pandemics every 80 years – be prepared (Freeze dried food  & water)

Live in a flood plain that floods every 20 years – keep several 72 hour kits in your home and automobile (think about moving to higher ground too)

Worried about global economic collapse on a scale that has never happened before – be prepared (Freeze dried food  & water)

Shelf life estimates

Freeze Dried Food – 25 years

MRE – 5 – 7 years

MRE and food bars in a 72 hour emergency kit, in the trunk of a car in a temperate region (Atlanta) – 1 year or less

Buy and store bulk staples, let them rot due to poor oversight and then throw them out a year or two later = unprepared.

The Shelf Life of Long Term Food Storage Items

By Frank Salvo

There are four main factors that determine the shelf life of your long term food storage items. If you are looking to start a food storage program for your family, or you already have one, you will want to be aware of these things in order to get the maximum shelf life possible.

The four factors are as follows. The temperature of the storage area, the moisture content of the food, the atmosphere in the storage container, and the storage container itself. Let’s look at each of those factors.

1) Temperature of the Storage Area

Temperature has more to do with how long storable food will last than anything else. If you are planning on storing your food in a warm environment, it will only last a fraction of the time it would last in a cool, dry place. Some feel that the optimum temperature is 40 degrees F or less. However, not everyone will be able to achieve that. Another factor is that you have a place where the temperature is relatively constant. Frequent temperature changes can also shorten the life of storable food.

Remember to choose a cool, dry, dark place, where the temperature remains relatively constant, for storing your food.

2) Moisture Content of the Food

Foods with excess moisture can spoil in their containers. Food chosen for long term storage should have a moisture content of 10% or less. This is hard to achieve because most people don’t have access to specialized equipment.

An alternative is to get freeze-dried food, which has been specially-prepared for this purpose. The moisture content of these foods has been taken care of in the preparation process.

3) Atmosphere in the Storage Container

Oxygen oxidizes many of the compounds in food, so foods packed in air in storage containers will not store as well as Nitrogen, which is a popular gas for storing food, and one that works very well.

Some people use oxygen absorber packets. You simply place one in the storage container and seal. When you use these, you must have a storage container that is able to withstand some vacuum pressure. This is because the absorber packet will create a slight vacuum as it absorbs the oxygen.

Most food units that are packaged and sold for long term food storage have been packed with nitrogen in the #10 cans.

4) The Storage Container

Storage containers should have a hermetic seal (air tight) in order to get the longest life out of your stored foods. #10 Cans and sealable food-grade storage buckets work very well for this.

You must make certain that the storage containers you use are food grade containers. #10 cans that are used for food storage often have an enamel lining for this purpose. You can also buy plastic food-grade 5 gallon buckets.

If you buy a commercially-prepared food unit with #10 cans, then the second, third, and fourth factors are already addressed for you. In order to satisfy the first factor, you will still want to store the food in a cool, dry, dark place.

If you decide to buy plastic buckets, add the food, and seal them yourself, you will need to rent a nitrogen cylinder to fill the airspace in the buckets. When you do this, the oxygen will be displaced leaving only the nitrogen. Again, make sure that you purchase food-grade quality buckets. This is very important.

Remember these things when purchasing or creating a supply of long term storable food for your family.

Frank Salvo has been involved in food storage and emergency preparedness for the past 20 years. To learn more about these topics, please visit: http://www.freezedriedsurvivalfood.com.

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Nitro-pak has lowered pricing on the following food reserves;

• Ultimate Pak  (204 #10 cans) – Now $3998 (was $4275)

• Platinum Reserve (168 #10 cans) – Now $2998 (was $3375)

These are mixed survival food reserves mostly Mountain House freeze dried entrees and sides with some bulk oats and staples.

Freeze dried food prices increased in August 2008 when supplies were in shortage situation after heavy purchases as the price of oil went up to $140 per barrel. Freeze dried food supply eased temporarily then tightened again in October 2008 due to the global collapse of financial markets. Since then the supply has eased except for a few weeks in May 2009 due to H1N1 pandemic scare.

It seems now supply is good and prices are coming down as fear and concern over the economy has subsided.

I made this short video comparing freeze dried food and MRE.

Key points are MRE is more expensive but more mobile.

MRE is good for the short term, 2-3 week food reserve, but Mountain House #10 cans which can store up to 25-30 years are cheaper and taste better.