English Breakfast

MRE Date Checker

AVG Storage Temp (F°)

Manufacture Date

Estimated Shelf Life

Remaining Time

MRE Manufacturers use a 4-digit modified julian date code to indicate the manufacture date. This code is usually stamped on the MRE box and pouch. The location of the code can vary. The first digit represents the year, and the last three digits represent the day. Date code 7304 = 304th day of 2007. Sometimes other letters representing batch numbers will be appended to the date code (i.e. 7304C). Since the official longevity of an MRE is no longer than 10 years, and the modified date code makes it impossible to determine the decade of manufacture, this calculator assumes that your MREs are not 10 years old or more.

[The following Italian Combat Rations pages and pictures can be found in their original form at the "Die Kampfzuteilung" web site, whose webmaster graciously allowed me to repost them here. I have reproduced the pictures and done a rough translation of the Japanese text into English. The translations are not exact but should get across the spirit of the original text.]

Breakfast Ration

Contents:
Biscuits, sweet
Fruit jelly
Sweetened Condensed Milk
Coffee
Chocolate bars
Sugar
Accessories

Breakfast ration

Biscuits (sweet) with sweetened condensed milk

From the appearance of this breakfast ration, it looks like Italians don't eat very much for breakfast. You pretty much just have your coffee and sweet biscuits. The fruit jelly bars and chocolate bar is more an extra snack.

By itself, the biscuit tastes a little sweet. But once you add the sweetened condensed milk, it becomes even more tasty.

Fruit jelly bars - orange and cherry flavored

Chocolate bar

Instant Coffee

These are generally known as jelly candy, or gum drops in the US. They are sugar coated on the outside with a jelly-like texture inside.

This is a small milk chocolate bar, with a good, sweet flavor.

It's instant coffee, but didn't taste bad. Very bitter if consumed black, or you could use the sugar and sweetened condensed milk for whitener.