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Learning About Emergency Food Rations

Sunday, March 23, 2014

By Linda Cantrell


Have you ever imagined what would happen if you were not allowed to buy food for a whole year? How would you survive? It is in the search of answers to these questions that you need some basic tips about emergency food rations. Natural disasters such as floods, tornadoes, storms and disease outbreaks are common in the UK just like elsewhere in the world. You therefore need to be prepared for such emergencies so that your ration supply is not cut short.

An emergency food-stock is vital as a precautionary measure. There, you can keep foods that can remain fresh for long, meeting all your basic dietary needs. At any given instant, you should at least have an uninterrupted supply for three days. The water and food therein must be sufficient for all your family members. Depending on your ability, your stock can go for a week, a month or more.

Good storage equipment is also required. Ensure you meet all the necessary hygiene requirements. Foods that do not require refrigeration are preferable. They should also have low salt content. Your store should be easily reachable to avoid hassles when you need to use the stock. Remember it will be used in an emergency situation where a long search is not convenient. The items should also be free from humidity and pests as these are destructive.

You can do your shopping in bits. No need to hurry!! Begin with foods that you can easily purchase at an affordable price. Consult widely so that the items you buy are those within a reasonable price and quality. Affordability is also a factor to consider as well as the manufacturers. Some manufacturers are untrustworthy and some companies make counterfeit goods.

Have in mind that the stock is only meant for emergency. Even if you are tempted, try not to use it until an emergency occurs. You should rather buy your daily foodstuff items as usual. If circumstances force you to borrow from your stock pile, remember to replenish it. Nonetheless, only emergencies should be tackled using the stock pile.

Occasionally, you have to replenish and rotate your stock pile so that the old items appear at the bottom and the new ones at the top. Throw away the items that get expired before they are used. Rotating implies interchanging the items to take those recently purchased to the bottom. This way, the items that are about to expire are consumed first to avoid wastage.

There are many ways of testing the palatability of your stocked items. One way is to check their expiry dates. The nearer the expiry date the faster you should use the item to beat the deadline. For bottled water, you have to rotate the stock every six months even if the expiry date is not pinned on the bottle.

Fruits and other high acid canned foods can be stored for a maximum storage period of from a year to eighteen months. Usually, two to at least five years of storage is ideal for low acid canned foods such as fish, most vegetables and meat. The main idea is not to store the rations for longer than expected.




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