21.3.14

Learning About Emergency Food Rations

By Linda Cantrell


Some situations can force you not to be able to buy food for a whole year. At such times, survival tactics come in handy, but you can barely survive without foods. Emergency food rations are the way to go when such situations arise. The UK and other parts of the world are frequently hit by natural disasters such as floods, tornadoes, storms and disease outbreaks. Such situations call for disaster preparedness by way of food supply around the clock.

An emergency food-stock is needed for circumstances of that nature. They enable you to keep foods fresh for long and be in a position to get all the dietary requirements in your meals. For a start, you should strive to always have a continuous ration supply for three days. The store should contain sufficient water and foods for all your family members. You can choose to have a stock that can go for a week, a month or more.

Also arrange good storage tools that meet the necessary hygiene requirements. It is not advisable to store foods with high salt content and refrigeration requirements. Your store should be within reach for easy retrieval of items. In case of an emergency, your food should be readily available. Keep the foods far from humidity and away from pests.

When you go for shopping, you do not need to buy everything at once. You can start with those that are on stock or on offer. Consider the prizes also. Some are very expensive while others are cheap. Depending on your pocket, go for what fits you. However, it is advisable to purchase items from reputable and trusted manufacturers.

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.

From time to time, replenish and reshuffle your stock pile. Discard the items that will have expired before their use. Reshuffling implies interchanging the items so that those recently purchased ones are kept at the bottom. It enables you to utilize the ones that have neared their expiry date to avoid the great loss that comes with disposing them off.

In order to taste whether your foodstuff items are still edible, you have a range of options. You can begin by checking their expiry dates. If an item has not expired then it can still be consumed. Rotate the stock of your bottled water every six months the expiry date notwithstanding.

Fruits and other foods that have high acid content should be stored for a maximum of a year to eighteen months. Meat, fish and most vegetables can be stored for two to five years since they have low acid content and thus last longer. Storing the foods for too long should be avoided.




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