Our Testing Team has eaten its way through countless survival and emergency food options to develop our comprehensive reviews. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at how we tackle the serious business of testing emergency food—because when it comes to surviving a long term food shortage, taste matters!
How We Research and Test Survival Food Products
At Survival Stoic, we believe that emergency food should be as delicious as it is practical. After all, if you’re going to hunker down for an extended period, you might as well enjoy your meals! To date, we’ve spent over 1,500 hours researching and tasting a wide variety of emergency food products, from freeze-dried meals to high-calorie snack packs.
We want to understand how these foods hold up under pressure (both in terms of shelf life and flavor). So, we rolled up our sleeves and donned our chef hats to test each product hands-on.
In other words:
Yes, we actually ate everything.
Our Research Process
Our research process involves evaluating brands and their offerings through a few key steps:
- Taste tests: We prepare and taste all the products on this website, keeping track of everything from texture to funky aftertaste.
- Comparative analysis: We compare costs, nutritional value, shelf life, and packaging.
- Expert consultations: Where necessary, we consult experts to understand survival foods more in-depth and provide insights.
- Customer service interactions: We contact brands to gauge their responsiveness. If they can’t answer our questions about their products, how can we trust their products in an emergency?
- Overall Offering: Does the company offer innovative products, or just generic bags of rice and drink mixes?
Our Survival Food Testing Process In-Depth
We take our tasting seriously. To ensure our reviews are as accurate as possible, we conduct our testing in a controlled environment (a.k.a. our kitchen). Here’s how we do it:
Preparation and Tasting
We prepare meals as directed on the packaging. No chef tricks here—if the instructions say “add boiling water,” that’s exactly what we do. After the first tasting, we may attempt to “spruce up” some of the poorly performing meals. We try to give each survival food the best shot possible.
We also invite a team of taste testers, including family and friends, to join us in our quest for flavor excellence. Some of our families have lived on emergency foods for weeks during a testing bonanza.
Nutritional Value
We also analyze the nutritional information to ensure the meals pack enough calories and essential nutrients. After all, if you’re going to survive, you need real food.
Packaging and Shelf Life
We evaluate how well the food is packaged. Is it vacuum-sealed for freshness, or does it resemble an old lunch bag? We also test the shelf life by checking how long it lasts in various conditions. Spoiler: some products lose their flavor after a few years.
How We Rank and Review Emergency Food
To develop our ranking system, we gathered insights from consumers and experts regarding their top priorities when selecting emergency food supplies. The following criteria influence our scoring:
- Taste (30% of total score): Based on our taste tests, we score meals on flavor, texture, and overall satisfaction.
- Nutritional Value (25% of total score): We consider the caloric density and macronutrient composition of the food.
- Ease of Preparation (20% of total score): In an emergency, you want food that’s quick and easy to make, not a three-hour cooking marathon.
- Packaging (15% of total score): We prefer meals that come in sturdy, resealable pouches.
- Shelf Life (10% of total score): Foods that can withstand the test of time (and a little heat) get bonus points.
Our Emergency Food Reviews
Take a look at our emergency food reviews to get our true unbiased thoughts on each company and their kits!
