My bif bars seemed to hold up well in the heat, though they do get a little more gooey than normal.

Granola bars that come packed in the aluminum/plastic pouches seem to hold up pretty well to heat.

I used to pack a tin of beer nuts with me a lot in hot weather. They were good, but you had to keep hydrated if you ate a lot of them.

Learning the above fact makes me really wonder about food storage in my car. If MRE's can only handle a month of 120F temperatures will other foods/packaging do any better? Does anyone know if the packaging of MRE's gives them their shelflife and is this shelflife longer than your basic can of Dinty Moore Stew? Or is the main purpose of MRE's just to give grunts a bunch of calories in quick format?

I guess the test will be cans of stew left in the car then taste one each month to see how it goes. That'll test the patability but not their nutritional value...

-Blast, who is in a contemplative mood...and likes stew.

I have eaten canned chili and a few other thing that were in my truck for more than a year thru winter spring summer and fall, and I'm still up right and kickin. I would suggest rotating them more often than every couple of years though.

Blast, do you eat anything besides chili or stew?
kmat

Well...Slim Jims...and occasionally canned curry from World Market.

-Blast

Was not my intention to offend. However, I've been known to cook a pretty mean venison chili(capable of burning out the bottom of a cast iron pot!!). Maybe a Spring Creek chili dinner soon?
kmat

I don’t know about the rest of you, but now I’m hungry. Guess I’ll be going to fix dinner…

Venison chili? Oh yes oh yes oh yes!
I'll bring the beer! One keg or two?

-Blast, who thinks it's time for another Texas ETS meetup.

Hmmm... I carry StarKist Tuna (in pouches) in both my backpack and vehicle as an emergency food source.

Found the information below on the StarKist website:

http://www.starkist.com/faqs.html

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Q. What is the shelf-life of StarKist® Canned Tuna?

A. Unopened StarKist® canned tuna has a recommended shelf-life of up to four years, provided the product has been stored under normal conditions and the can is not dented or damaged.

As of January 2004 we have begun printing a “Best By” Date on cans of StarKist® Tuna. However, for cans without a “Best By” Date, you can use the manufacturing code information to tell whether the can is still within the recommended shelf-life. This code is printed or embossed on the lid or bottom of the can and consists of two rows of letters and numbers. Please look at the second, or bottom row of the code. The bottom row ends with a letter of the alphabet, which stands for the year in which the product was packed. The letter “M” means the tuna was packed in 2003, the letter “L” means the tuna was packed in 2002, and the letter "K" means the tuna was packed in 2001.

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Q. What is the shelf-life of the StarKist Flavor Fresh Pouch® and StarKist Tuna Creations™?

A. Unopened StarKist® Tuna in a Pouch has a recommended shelf-life of 3 years, provided the pouch is not damaged and the product has been stored under normal conditions.

As of January 2004 we have begun printing a “Best By” Date on StarKist® Tuna Pouches. However, for pouches without a “Best By” Date, you can use the manufacturing code information to tell whether the product is still within the recommended shelf-life. This code is printed on the back of the pouch, near the middle section, and consists of a series of letters and numbers. The last letter in the code stands for the year in which the product was packed. The letter “M” means the tuna was packed in 2003; and the letter “L” means the tuna was packed in 2002.

Keep in mind that those dates are for normal (sic) conditions. I have no idea what they mean by that, but I'm pretty sure it isn't the trunk of your car.