How would you feel about eating three-year-old pizza?
Researchers at the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development, and Engineering Center have reportedly almost perfected the recipe for pizza that can "stay on the shelf for up to three years and still remain safe to eat," the Associated Press reported Saturday.
The new development has been called the "holy-grail" of MRE (meals-ready-to-eat) foods, which are small, portable food rations that do not require any preparing.
Scientists working at a United States Army lab in Massachusetts said the long-lasting pizza does not require refrigeration or freezing. It can be consumed safely, even three years after its cooked date.
"You can basically take the pizza, leave it on the counter, packaged, for three years and it'd still be edible," Michelle Richardson, a food scientist at the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center, told the AP.
For decades, soldiers have reportedly been requesting pizza as an option for their MRE. Richardson told the AP that scientist have been working on the recipe for the past two years "in a large kitchen full of commercial equipment."
However there have been several challenges associated with its development, including moisture and bacteria concerns. The AP reported that moisture from the tomato sauce, cheese and toppings on the pizza, can seep into the dough, making for a soggy pizza that can result in the growth of mold and bacteria.
To overcome the problem, researchers use the ingredient humectants, a combination of sugar, syrups and salts. Humectants is used to prevent dough from becoming soggy by limiting the amount of water absorbed.
New packaging developed, which adds iron filings, will reduce oxygen from entering the pouch, the AP added.
Richardson added that the new pizza can survive in temperatures reaching 80 degrees Fahrenheit for three years. Despite still being in the tasting stage, Richardson has added pepperoni pizza and turkey pepperoni to the menu.
"It pretty much tastes just like a typical pan pizza that you would make at home and take out of the oven or the toaster oven," Jill Bates, head of the lab, told the AP. "The only thing missing from that experience would be it's not hot when you eat it. It's room temperature."
Former lieutenant colonel and spokesperson for Natick David Accetta said has tried the pizza and told the AP that he enjoyed the taste.
"In a lot of cases, when you are cold and tired and hungry, having a hot meal that's something that you like and would get at home, it increases your morale and we consider that to be a force multiplier," Accetta told AP.
