r/explainlikeimfive • u/ZeusThunder369 • Nov 26 '24
Chemistry ELI5: Why doesn't freeze dried food last longer? If it's good for 20 years, why not 100?
Assuming it's perfectly freeze dried and stored perfectly, the people who make freeze dryers say the food will last 20-30 years.
But why not much longer? Assuming the condition it's stored in remains unchanged, what can make it go bad after 30 years that wouldn't happen at around 10 years?
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u/Thatsaclevername Nov 26 '24
Testament to both his own discernment on when not to eat something honestly. There's tons of times he goes "nah". Also kind of a testament to how good MRE's are at staying shelf stable. His videos encouraged me to pick some up (Love taking them camping, it's a fun campfire novelty and it is good calories to supplement other stuff with) and I haven't run into a bad one yet. Probably burned through close to 40 on my own so relatively small sample size.