b. Pallets must be used to raise subsistence off the floor. Individual lots must be
piled in such a way as to permit the circulation of air around the lots.
c. Bagged items and those requiring fumigation and insect control should not be
stored in large masses in corners of the storeroom or directly against the walls. Such
storage leaves insufficient room for cleaning and inspecting.
d. Palletized storage is used as this facilitates handling of the food items and
reduces losses by breakage in handling. All items should be properly cross-stacked to
keep the stack solid and prevent it from toppling.
e. Adequate space must be maintained to separate lots from walls and interior
partitions to permit cleaning, application of vector control measures, and to promote air
circulation.
f. Semiperishable subsistence items must be clearly marked. They must be
segregated so that oldest lots (date of pack) are issued first unless lots received at later
3-8.
STORAGE PERIODS (KEEPING TIME)
a. The safe storage period for dry subsistence items varies greatly. The safe
storage period depends on such elements as temperature, humidity, care in handling,
protection from weather, quality of the food when received, and the packing. Safe
storage periods become very uncertain at extremes of temperature and under combat
conditions.
(1) The fact that subsistence has been on hand up to the limit of the "safe"
storage period does not mean that the subsistence should be condemned as unfit for
consumption but that it should be consumed as soon as practicable.
(2) Subsistence which has been on hand beyond the safe storage period
should be inspected carefully for spillage, leakage, or other damage. If still good, it
should be issued as soon as possible. Such items will be given priority of issue over
newer stocks.
(3) Relative humidity is of one of the factors in the safe keeping time of
semiperishable subsistence. The preferred relative humidity is 50-55 percent. Metal
cans are susceptible to rust and most boxed or bagged foods to mustiness or molding
when there is a relative humidity above 60 percent.
b. Table 5-8, "Dry storage of semiperishable subsistence," in DOD 4145.19-R-1
(see Appendix A) should be used as a guide. This table is based on the optimum rather
than the maximum storage life.
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