Safecastle | One Shop For All Emergency Essentials: Mountain House Products are Exceeding 30-Year Shelf Life

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Thursday, July 26, 2012

Mountain House Products are Exceeding 30-Year Shelf Life

My operations manager was at Mountain House yesterday and took part in some blind taste testing between MH foods and several other branded dried storage foods. He reported that in every variety compared, the MH foods turned out a slam-dunk winner in both taste and appearance. As a matter of fact, he also tasted some of this pictured 30-year-old Mountain House freeze-dried Rice & Chicken. He said it was "quite tasty"! 

Mountain House Results Show That Products Are Exceeding 30-Year Shelf Life
Industry-Leading Freeze-Dried Food Manufacturer Continues to Set Shelf Life Records
ALBANY, Ore.--()--Mountain House, the leading domestic brand of freeze-dried food, conducted an internal taste test to compare the quality of new pouches of food versus 30- to 31-year-old pouches from the company’s archives. Six products were scored on a nine-point scale by 12 participants. Despite the fact that archived pouches trailed the new pouches in each case, the resulting average score of 6.6 surprised even the most seasoned of taste testers in the group.
“We know that packaging in cans is a great way to preserve freshness over time, and we will continue using this method”
According to Norm Jager, head of research and development for Mountain House, the fact that the archived pouches scored this highly after 30 years indicated to Mountain House a need to re-think how it communicates shelf-life to consumers.
  
“Mountain House is the only brand that determines shelf life by testing its own archived products. It is increasingly clear that our products are performing well beyond the shelf life displayed on our labels. As a result, we are going to move from a ‘use by’ date on our products to a ‘manufactured on’ date because, frankly, the ‘use by’ date keeps getting pushed out into the future. In other words, we’re not just guessing that our products will last over 30 years, we know it and we want our customers to know it as well.”
  
As the industry leader in freeze-dried food, Mountain House attributes the ever-increasing shelf life of its pouches to rigorous end-to-end manufacturing processes and quality control. This includes everything from ingredient sourcing, recipe development, blending of seasonings, cooking, and freeze drying to packaging and distribution. These facts, in tandem with ongoing taste test findings, could have significant meaning to consumers looking for maximum longevity.
  
“We know that packaging in cans is a great way to preserve freshness over time, and we will continue using this method,” said Jager. “However, it’s great to know that our pouch packaging is nearly as durable, when stored properly. When you eat 30-year-old Mountain House food you will more than just survive on it, you will enjoy it and get almost the exact same nutrition as freshly made product. We carry that confidence with us as we continue developing our product offerings this year.”

For more information on this study, please visit:
http://www.mountainhouse.com/media/press/MH_TasteGraph.pdf

About Mountain House
Mountain House, the #1 domestic brand of freeze-dried food, has been the leading choice of backpackers, hikers, campers and other outdoor enthusiasts for nearly 50 years, and more recently has become a favorite long-term food storage solution for emergency preparedness. Mountain House products are convenient, easy to prepare and have an industry-leading shelf life. For more information and a complete list of product offerings, visit www.mountainhouse.com.

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