Of the four major brands (Mainstay, Datrex, Millenium and UST) is there one that is better than the others? Which should be avoided? Is there any warning I need to know about such as it is best to not eat than to eat one of these?

Jeanette Isabelle

I think of ER Bars and Mayday as being major brands for this as well.

My recommendation is to buy one of each and test for your people and your situation. The Millennium Bars and ER Bars are popular with my young'uns, other options not as much. Some were excluded from my personal testing (I won't eat anything coconut flavored, for example).

I could eat the Datrex rations every day! Maybe I am a weirdo but I really love them. The other brands...not so much.

Of those, I have only ever tried the Mainstay and UST. I like them, the flavor isn't overpowering or off putting, they're not greasy but are very crumbly.

I also like the little Russian lifeboat rations.

Where can one find the Russian ones? Short of going to Russia to get them, that is.

Amazon or Ebay has them, but prices vary wildly... I think I ended up paying around $15-16 for a pack of 3 (one had lost its vacuum seal)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FPLP1QQ/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_FH1rDb0GDD43B

Here's a review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KNPYxvKMAg

Doesn't look very appetizing, but it tastes pretty good, sweet but not overpowering.

Texture when eating is a little hard to describe. It looks hard but crumbles easily like most lifeboat rations so you won't need to bite hard, but it also dissolves slightly in your mouth as you eat it kind of like these little wafer bars

Cool! I'll check 'em out. The ones at Amazon, the Rusky ones, look almost exactly like Datrex rats.

I I am ever on a lifeboat for an extended period of time, I am sure that I will relish lifeboat rations. In any other situation, it is dreadfully easy to equip onesself with food that is more nutritious, tasty, and appealing than a bunch of chemically laced crackers.

Of course, my standards probably aren't all that high. I just finished a trip where three straight evening meals were canned beef stew (plus a few veggies).

My thoughts on the matter (and the reason for posting my question) is to use a lifeboat ration as a side item for other food items such as a freeze-dried meal.

The advantage of a lifeboat ration is obvious, pack a lot of substance for its space and weight. However, it can't be a complete meal.

Jeanette Isabelle

What is it with people who need to have something different every night and yet feed their dog the same stale kibble for weeks/months on end. Three nights of beef stew with some green veggies added sounds delish...

I pulled a can of beef stew out of the stock that was way past its expiration date. Tasted just fine and I had no ill effects. I added some dehydrated peas that are first rehydrated and then mixed in — easy pea-sy.

Canned food usually has a best before date not an expiration date. Some experts say it should be fine if the can did not bulge. In Germany there an initiative to tell people about that. The main goal is to prevent wasting perfectly fine food.
There are exceptions. If the food was not treated properly, botulinus bacteria may develop. That could get you before the best before date though. The gourmet food surströmming is only good after the can bulged.

“Surströmming” — now there’s an acquired taste

The Millennium bars are flavored and individually packaged versions of the SOS Food Lab rations. I use SOS rations in my kits as I found it the, to be best tasting. But, it's a very individualized thing and the suggestion to order different ones and choose what you like is good advice.

Frankly, the best by/expired dates are a scam. I am positive they are intentionally short on the advice of attorneys and/or marketing types who are interested in boosting sales.

I would stay away from bulging or leaking cans, for obvious reasons. I have eaten food that was nine years beyond its expiry date. It tasted just fine, and there were no after effects, not even excessive gas.

A lot depends upon decent storage- typically in a place that is dark and cool.

Testing ahead of the emergency is always a good idea. It's not just for flavor. What if you do not have a stomach of iron like hikermor? Or maybe you're allergic to something in a particular meat stew? During an emergency, it would be bad to be weakened by a stomach problem that could have been avoided.

A well made can will allow food to keep a century or more. The quality will decline with decades and decades but canned food is pretty sterile; it's pressure canned at temps up around 230 or more which kills virtually everything (pathogen-wise, that is). Modern processes include agitation which decreases the time needed to sterilize the contents. I expect that modern cans are probably more cheaply made, thinner and less durable than they were a few decades ago but I'd have no issues eating a 20 year can of food, provided it wasn't rusty or bulging.

Retort pouches are less robust, of course. I'd try to eat those within a year or two of the best-by date (depending on storage conditions).

Expiration dates might be valid. Around here ground meat is pretty much the only item having one that I know of.
Best before is a different topic. After that date the product probably can be consumed without after effects. It might not taste as good as intended be the chef creating the dish. Around here food is required to have a best before by law (to protect the consumers). For some products like salt or dry pasta it may be save to consume them after the best before is a few centuries in the past.
Many people are not aware of the difference. In a safety meeting the speaker proudly gave us an example how he saved a coworker´s life. He made him throw a can of tuna in the garbage when it was two days beyond its best before (which was 5 years after production). The speaker wasn´t competent on the other topics of the meeting either.