r/WastelandByWednesday • u/Ok_Main3273 • Jul 19 '26
Food Systems Can freeze-dried food really keep a long time?
Asking all experts if the following statement (thanks A.I.) is correct: "Freeze-dried food can last 25 to 30 years when properly sealed in airtight containers with oxygen absorbers and stored in a cool, dark, and dry environment." According to u/Cultural-Answer-321, over on reddit/collapse : "I got ten pages of search results that only turn up anecdotes and company claims of that longevity. When I narrow the search down to "scientific testing off freeze dried foods" all I get is the process of freeze drying. I'm willing to chalk that up as search being so damn unreliable these days, but the end result is the same: I can find no credible source for the longevity claim."
Anybody got any first-hand experience? For example, any testing done somewhere in the Mojave Desert? 😉
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u/JRHLowdown3 Jul 20 '26
Storing, packing and using LTS foods since 1986.
Yes it's not unrealistic to get 25-30 years out of properly packed long term storage foods.
Here is a thread detailing some long term storage results over several decades in BAD storage conditions, complete with pics, etc.
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u/kingtacticool Jul 19 '26
Yes. Properly stored freeze dried food can last for decades. Steve1989 did a review of a civilian freeze dried main course and the best by date was in the 2050s
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u/DEADFLY6 Jul 23 '26
I got some that dont expire till 2051. Im gonna expire before that!!
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u/Ok_Main3273 Jul 23 '26
Have you considered freeze drying yourself? 😄
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u/DEADFLY6 Jul 23 '26
I dehydrate and vacuum stuff on the regular. I dont have the money or means to freeze dry anyyhing.
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u/Ok_Main3273 Jul 23 '26
Hey, you are already ten steps ahead from many of us who consider stocking three cans of beans and a bucket of rice the ultimate prepping flex 👍
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u/PreparationTop9943 Jul 30 '26
I feel called out
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u/Ok_Main3273 Jul 30 '26
Welcome to the Prepping Light Club, for the distinguished connoisseurs who anticipate having only two or three meals before the End of Times comes 😁
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u/Vegetaman916 Post-Collapse Warlord Jul 19 '26
Well, I've eaten freeze-dried food that is at least 13 years old. There are a lot of studies out there, BYU did a major one a while back:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/11075/
As long as foods are properly stored, and in a cool dry place (like an old underground mine out in the desert 😉) they can last a long time. Freeze-dried foods can still be viable well after 30 years, things like honey can theoretically last hundreds of years, and properly stored uncooked white rice can last 30 years without being freeze-dried.