Western Frontier 2021 MRE and up Inspection Date, 2018 Pack Date, MRE, Meals Ready-to-Eat Genuine US Military Surplus Inspection

So like many of you looking at MRE’s here, I wanted a supply of grab and go food for when our house is blown over/burned down/flooded/surrounded by terrorists/ taken over by zombies.MRE’s don’t need to be cooked, they last a while, and they are idiot proof, so they fit my needs.I did my research, went to the “MRE Info” website, read all about the different civilian/military MRE’s, different calories counts, shelf life’s menus, etc.Not super exciting, but I felt ready to go out and buy!So, I went to Amazon, because I trust them.Ordered this case, took about 4-5 days.Sweet.The case is exactly what I ordered- 1 case of 12 MRE’s, from Ameriqual.First picture shows the “Date Packaged”, which is Sept 2017.Ok, not bad.The “Take a look and see if they are ok/Inspection Date” is Sept 2020.So at a minimum I have a couple of years.Realistically, these will be in our 50 degree crawl space, and will likely last for 5+ years without a thought.I’ve eaten MRE’s much older than that, they were fine.The “Time Temperature Indicator”is a nice dark circle, which indicates these probably haven’t been sitting out in the desert of Iraq.So everything is good so far!What’s in the box?This is a case of MRE’s from the “B” menu, #’s 13-24.Well isn’t that fancy!But, what does it mean?I have the following:There are 3 different packaging types, I can’t see a difference other than the marketing labels aren’t the same.All are from Ameriqual, all contain a water-activated heater, an entree, and other stuff.My case is options 13-23 (no #24, I have 2X #22, I’m gonna sue!)13- Cheese Tortillini14- Creamy Spinach Fettuccini15- Mexican style chicken stew16- Chicken burrito bowl17- Sausage patty18- Beef ravioli19- Beef patty pepper jack cheese20- hash browns with bacon, pepper and onion21- tuna with lemon22- Asian style beef stew ( 2 of these)23- Chicken pesto pastaSo, it looks like a variety of breakfast (2?) and regular entrees. Each MRE has the full “military style” contents, with a side dish (fruit, muffin top, tortilla), peanut butter or cheese spread, crackers or pastry, nuts/candy/etc, beverage powder, the accessory package (toilet paper, seasoning, matches, spoon etc), and a flame less heater.(That info is from the Ameriqual website, I took a picture for ya).I opened one, and it has exactly what the Ameriqual website said it would.Tasted just like an MRE should.Love it or leave it, it is what it is.Bottom line, do your research, understand what you’ll get, then buy from these guys, as they sent exactly what they said they would.Good luck, and watch out for zombies!

Putting 2018 in the item title is deceptive, since the MREs were packaged in 2016. Losing half your shelf life but paying nearly full price is not something I appreciate. Meals are good though (while still fresh) and otherwise as described.

The real deal, right down to the big spoon and toilet paper! My sons and I opened one and tried it out just to see if they were posers or the real deal. We opened case B and tried the beef ravioli. The meal included:Dried cranberriesCheese with bacon spreadBreadBarbecue flavored corn nuggetsBeef ravioli and meat saucePowdered orange drink mixFreeze dried coffeeSplenda packetCreamerHot sauceMintsSaltToilet paperHot beverage bag (to heat you water for instant coffee)Cardboard heater pocketMeal heater pouchSpoon (the big green heavy weight one)Moist toweletteThe cases I received yesterday (one A and one B) still have a year left before the inspection date. They were properly packaged with double straps and the indicator intact. The individual meals were in opaque packs with all of the standard packets inside. They contain the standard heaters that require only water and a few minutes to heat up your food. These were exactly as advertised, showed up on time and at a fare price. I am pleased and will be ordering again in the future.

There are no such things as "gourmet" MREs. Hell, there's no such thing as "gourmet" freeze-dried, or canned, or any other kind of long-term preserved food. If you're looking for gourmet, use your computer to make reservations at an upscale French bistro. However, the meals are somewhat palatable and non-offensive. They're good, as far as you can get with prepackaged long-term survival meals which are intended to be carried and eaten anywhere.The box arrived as appears in the pictures, that is with no additional packaging. They just slapped a shipping label on the cardboard case itself. This is not a big deal. Basically, putting the case in another cardboard box would really just be unnecessary extra weight. The straps were intact, and the box, itself, appears to have not been opened. Most importantly, the outer bags containing the complete meal package are still factory sealed.What does seem odd is the inspection date suggests it has come back from the future. I received it in mid April, but it says on the box the inspection is in May of this year. I think there are two likely and rational explanations for this mysterious future inspection date. One explanation might be that it was a typo, which apparently struck all the cases in the company's supply, and they meant to stamp it for May of 2016. The other possible explanation is that it's the date on which it is supposed to be inspected if the military had bought these cases.All of the contents of each meal package are also unopened and with the meal. The meal bags contain: the entree, the flame-less ration heater and bag, cardboard heating sleeve, a hot beverage bag, eating utensil, napkins, salt, ground pepper, moist towelette, dessert, water-based cool beverage, hot water-based beverage, snack or lunch components, gum or candy. Some of the meal bags may also contain a book of matches. The cold beverage is one of these: fruit punch; orange; lemon-lime; etc. The hot beverage is one of these: instant coffee (comes with a packet of non-dairy creamer and a packet of sugar); hot cocoa; or tea.So far, this is the best price I've found for a complete case of intact MREs, without repetition of menus, and without being expired. $100 for a case of twelve is reasonable, it's less than $10 per meal. It's $8.33 per meal, but because they're in good condition, unopened, complete kits, they're worth it in my book.