Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Understanding More About Emergency Food Rations

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 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.

You also require good storage equipment. Necessary hygiene requirements should also be met. The foods stored here should require no refrigeration and should have low salt content. Do not put your store very far as to avoid inconveniences when retrieving the items. Remember a prolonged search is inconvenient in an emergency situation. Humidity and pests are dangerous to stored food and should therefore be kept at bay.

You do not need to shop for everything in one instant. Take your time! First, start with the foods that are available in the market at a reasonable price. It beats logic to buy an item at a hiked price when there is another one of the same or better quality more cheaply. Go for what you can comfortably afford. Also, consider the manufacturers as some are not trusted and avoid counterfeits.

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.

You need to refresh and alternate your stock pile from time to time. Some items can expire before they are used thus the need to discard them. Alternating means placing recently purchased articles at the bottom. This allows you to use those that have stayed for long to prevent from damage or expiry which can be a great loss.

You have a continuum of options for detecting the freshness of your food items. One way is to check their expiry dates. An item that has not expired is edible unless if it was not stored well. Restock your bottled water every six months because longer than this can be harmful; in addition, the nutrients in them become useless in regards to adding vitamins to the body.

The maximum storage period for high acid canned foods such as fruits can be a year or eighteen months. Low acid canned foods like meat, fish and most vegetables can be stored for two to five years.




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