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Operation: Chow Down

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Brendan Kavanaugh
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  The urban legend about Meals Ready to Eat is that, like Twinkies, they are indestructible and last forever.

This couldn't be further from the truth.

"The (379th Air Expeditionary Wing) has the job of supplying MREs to the entire area of responsibility to keep service members properly fed," said Capt. Cassie Cosentino, 379th Expeditionary Medical Group, Officer in Charge of Public Health. "The shelf life of an MRE is approximately five years, with heat stress a big concern and can reduce shelf life."

So, how do you check the quality of food? Taste-test it. Every quarter, based on needs, Public Heath takes a cross-section of MRE lots, approximately 108 meals, and volunteers inspect them. Their goal is to make sure 2,200 MREs are edible, and ready to support the mission. The 379th AEW is responsible for supplying the entire theater of operation with these vital provisions.

Enter 10 brave volunteers from 379 EMDG Public Health office to inspect the samples. As the team gathers around a table, Senior Airman Husein Khan, a Public Health Technician, briefs everyone on what to look for when inspecting the MREs. Ration inspections involve a multitude of tests such as taste, smell, color and texture. Each MRE case is opened and the meals are handed out. As always, there's some good-natured griping about who got the better meal and some trading back and forth to get an MRE that they really want to test.

"Light-hearted as it is, there is a level of seriousness to the inspections; forms need to be filled out, with lot number, meal type, if the package is leaking," Kahn said.

Then, each part of the MRE is opened, smelled and then tasted. At 2,500 calories per meal; if the volunteers ate the entire contents of all 108 MREs, they would consume a total of 27,000 calories per person. So a taste is all that is needed.

"Without the inspections, thousands of meals would be thrown away because of heat," Cosentino said, "[Operation: Chow Down] makes sure that they are still safe to eat and extends their shelf life."

Currently, it takes 10 Public Health volunteers approximately two hours to inspect 108 MREs, but 108 volunteers would reduce the inspection time to just minutes. If you're interested in volunteering for "Operation: Chow Down" please contact Senior Airman Husein Khan at 437-8854.