The Lot Number can be found on the bottom of your XMRE bag. It is embossed and usually starts with the letter “P” followed by 5 digits, the 5 digits are the lot number, which is the date of manufacture. This will help you determine your expected shelf life. The fresher the MRE, the longer your shelf life. Our products typically have a shelf life of 5 years from the date of manufacture.
The system used by XMRE® is the Julian Date Code, and you will have to convert the numbers with the Gregorian Calendar, the calendar used presently, shown here on the right.
How do you read our lot number, XXXXX? The first 2 digits represents the last 2 digits of the year and the last 3 digits represents the day of the year. For example, if your lot code is 20145, this means your XMRE was manufactured on the 145th day of the year 2020. Bring your calendar and count the 145th day which is May 24th, 2020. Your MRE has a best by date of May 24th, 2025, with proper storage conditions.
All our products bags are embossed with a best by date, which means we guarantee freshness by that date.
See the chart below for shelf life information of your MRE.