Posted on 04/22/2011 10:35:49 PM PDT by Kartographer
People freaked out about surviving world disasters and economic meltdown have made a run on freeze-dried food in the past month. As a result, Albany-based Oregon Freeze Dry Inc. — the country's largest supplier of freeze-dried camp food — won't accept any new orders through the 2011 camping season.
The company produces the widely sold Mountain House line of food pouches popular among everyone from overnight wilderness backpackers to Pacific Crest Trail devotees.
Oregon Freeze Dry officials say they have never seen this level of consumer panic over emergency preparedness in the company's 48-year history.
In the industry, the emergency-preparedness crowds are called "preppers," and they literally are taking food out of the mouths of hikers nationwide.
(Excerpt) Read more at mailtribune.com ...
Also wouldn’t hurt to have about $20,000,000,000 stashed, because you might want to buy a loaf of bread sometime.Or a 1942 nickle.
What’s the shelf-life of canned food?
Here’s a question I just thought of (don’t laugh, it’s just a question):
In an emergency, is it possible to soak rice in water to make it edible (if there is no heat source for cooking)? If so, how long must it soak?
Bags of rice have a 2-year shelf life and you can buy a 20lb bag for $15.
THere are more cost effective ways to stock on food... maybe not the greatest choices, but they are calories if ever needed to be called on.
Cans of stuff like ravioli, dried noodles, spam, etc.. find it on sale, but a few more cans. I'll last practically forever and doesn't cost 60 dollars for 12 freekin meals. Years from now when I have to throw it away, I won't be out all that much really so who cares.
” What’s the shelf-life of canned food? “
Try here, for links to a lot of information on food storage in general...
http://grandpappy.info/hshelff.htm
[excerpt]
Canned Food Study One
A Food and Drug Administration Article about a shelf life test that was conducted on 100-year old canned foods that were retrieved from the Steamboat Bertrand can be read at the following link:
http://web.archive.org/web/20070509153848/http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/CONSUMER/CON00043.html
Following is a brief summary of a very small portion of the above article:
“Among the canned food items retrieved from the Bertrand in 1968 were brandied peaches, oysters, plum tomatoes, honey, and mixed vegetables. In 1974, chemists at the National Food Processors Association (NFPA) analyzed the products for bacterial contamination and nutrient value. Although the food had lost its fresh smell and appearance, the NFPA chemists detected no microbial growth and determined that the foods were as safe to eat as they had been when canned more than 100 years earlier. The nutrient values varied depending upon the product and nutrient. NFPA chemists Janet Dudek and Edgar Elkins report that significant amounts of vitamins C and A were lost. But protein levels remained high, and all calcium values ‘were comparable to today’s products.’”
“NFPA chemists also analyzed a 40-year-old can of corn found in the basement of a home in California. Again, the canning process had kept the corn safe from contaminants and from much nutrient loss. In addition, Dudek says, the kernels looked and smelled like recently canned corn.”
“According to a recent study cosponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and NFPA, canned foods provide the same nutritional value as fresh grocery produce and their frozen counterparts when prepared for the table. NFPA researchers compared six vegetables in three forms: home-cooked fresh, warmed canned, and prepared frozen. ‘Levels of 13 minerals, eight vitamins, and fiber in the foods were similar,’ says Dudek. In fact, in some cases the canned product contained high levels of some vitamins that in fresh produce are destroyed by light or exposure to air.”
[excerpt]
HTH
Normal rice (unlike converted or boil-in-bag) requires heat.
The shelf life of white rice is much longer than 2 years.
God bless all of you FReepers for encouraging us to prepare gradually over the past 10 years.
A good large quantity of my preps are in canned food. I pick up a few every time I shop. A lot of people disagree, but I believe that modern canned food, stored in a climate controlled environment, will last a long, long time.
However, the shortages are more likely from that order FEMA put in for a million freeze dried food units, ostensibly for a midwest earthquake disaster.
Wow!
Oregon Freeze Dry expected a 30-percent increase. That turned into a 400-percent increase in just 30 days, Cornutt states in her letter.
FEMA denied it.....siad it was just an RFI.
(I have my doubts about that)
The suppliers have made clear the shortages are NOT due to government orders.
We're in the desert, and garage storage for anything is out of the question; those constant 105 - 110 degree temps hurt everything from food to battery storage; we can't store a thing outside of the indoor environment.
I use old non-functioning deep freezers outside in my shed for storage. Heat, humidity, bugs and varmits are a big problem here, the deep freezer helps with all.
Personal experience; 10 yr old white rice stored in plastic pails, sealed up after being flooded with CO2 (the “dry ice treatment”) is just the same as if you bought it yesterday.
” We did a three month supply of Mountain House last April.... “
I really hope that you’re thinking and planning out beyond a three-month time horizon...
IMO, stored stuff is not an end in itself - it’s something to buy enough time to make the lifestyle adjustments - changes - that are going to be required to survive, and perhaps, even thrive, in a world that’s about to change catastrophically, and permanently....
We have several 20 lb bags of white rice we bought at SAM'S Club for Y2K. We use it almost daily and it is still perfectly good. It is about 12 years old now.
We keep it in our basement in it's original plastic bags. We have taken no special precautions other than storing it in plastic storage tubs bought at Wal Mart (not air tight, no Oxygen inhibitor) just to keep it dry and any vermin out. The basement is dry but has little heat and the temperatures range from 40-80 degrees depending on time of year. We do run a portable humidifier during the summer or when it is wet outside in the Spring and Fall.
As we eat it up, we replace it and have added additional quantities. The price has really gone up recently but it is still a great bargain. It is cheap and easy eating. It is versatile and it can be cooked and then mixed with and nicely flavored with practically anything to make a hearty supplement or even a full meal.
It makes a lot of meals for only pennies. It is a major staple for our diet and will be especially so if things turn really bad.
The general rule is two years on most canned foods. But as long as the can is not damaged or swelled many canned foods are eatable for years. Of course the older they get you do have a lost of some of their favor and vitamin content, but still usable.
There are cases of canned foods from shipwrecks 50-60-100 or more years old and when open being found to be still good.
So rotate and store what your eat and eat what you store.
AND DON’T FOR GET A GOOD CAN OPENER! AND MORE THAN ONE!
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