| Dehydrated Food Companies | Individual Ingredient Companies | Things to be aware of | ||
| Preservation Process | Freeze-dried for maximum quality and shelf-life. In order to have the highest quality most meals need to be freeze-dried. | Ingredients are heated to extreme temperatures to remove water, and then are mixed together. |
Getting individual items like freeze-dried fruit, meat and vegetables can be a great supplement to your emergency food supply. Purchasing individual items to make meals separately can be difficult if you're not familiar with using freeze-dried ingredients and expensive. freeze-dried ingredients. |
Food Insurance™ is often imitated by companies that offer a lower quality of food. Don't be fooled. When it comes to getting a long-term emergency food supply. Food Insurance™ is the top of the line. |
| Shelf-Life at Room Temperature | Food Insurance's™ long-term solutions have a 25+ year shelf-life when stored at room temperature. | When stored at room temperature has a 7-10 year shelf-life. | If freeze-dried and packaged in a #10 can it will have a 25+ year shelf-life. | Many companies claim a 25-year shelf-life but look closer and you'll see that you will need to store the food at or below 50 degrees. You'll most likely spend more money keeping it cool then you'd save by going with a cheaper product. |
| Contains Natural Meat | Yes. Food Insurance's™ long-term solutions have natural meat in the meals. This means great tasting food that provides the protein needed in an emergency situation. | No. Meat does not dehydrate well, it comes out tough like jerky. TVP is the most common meat substitute in dehydrated meals. | You can buy freeze-dried meat individually. Be careful though when buying a long-term supply that individual ingredients don't count as a serving. | Some companies will have chicken, or beef in the title of the meal. This doesn't always mean the meat is real. Many companies use texturized vegetable protein (TVP) as a meat substitute. |
| Calories | Up to 300 per serving. Long-term supplies also include drink mix combo and rice to add calories. Food Insurance™ also offers al a carte items to increase the amount of daily calories. | 150-300 per serving. Without natural meat dehydrated meals offer less calories per 1 cup serving. | 60-120 per serving. Individual ingredients are good to add to established meals or to use as snacks. | Some companies will claim a high amount of calories per day, but be careful or you may end up buying an emergency food supply filled with snack and sides without any real quality meals. |
| Prep. Time |
10 min. For the lunch/dinner entrees just add water and let it sit for about 10 minutes. The breakfast meals are the same except the pancakes which require cooking. |
20-25 min. Requires boiling water, stirring, and then simmering. | Depends on how individual ingredients are used. Some can be eaten with no preparation, others require an hour or more to prepare. | A good indicator of whether or not a meal is freeze-dried is how it is prepared. Freeze-dried meals do not require cooking or simmering. Most freeze-dried meals can actually be prepared with cold water. |
| Packaging | Enamel coated, nitrogen flushed #10 tin cans. This guarantees the longest shelf-life and protection from rodents, insects, and water. | Usually comes in pouches that are placed in buckets. | May come in pouches or cans. | Pouches are good for survival kits but not as a long-term emergency food supply. Pouches allow oxygen to enter the food. Usually apparent by being able to smell the food inside the pouch. Pouches are also vulnerable to insects, rodents, and moisture. |
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Food Insurance
695 North Kay's Drive, Suite 7b
Kaysville, Utah 84037
Phone: 1.866.946.8366
Email: contact@foodinsurance.com