I received my 2nd bucket. The 1st was purchased maybe less than a year ago. This 2nd order was the first one that I opened the bucket to inspect all contents (opening bucket does not affect the shelf life, unless packages inside are compromised, so I'm told). After inspecting all packages individually I was satisfied that they were all sealed properly and no visible damage. There was a small amount of fine dust that was reminiscent of the smell of lipton cup a noodles smell, if you know that smell. I couldn't locate any source of the powder, and after having inspected the packaging I was comfortable that it wasn't from any of my sealed packets in my order. The open bucket did have a "food" flavoring smell due to the dust, but closing bucket securely fixed that issue.After inspecting both buckets I decided to try one of the meals to evaluate portion size and flavor, as well as ease of preparation. Obviously heat and water are the key components in preparing this. I opened the Pasta Alfredo and removed the oxygen absorbing packet. After boiling the 6 cups of water for the full four serving packet, I stirred in the contents and brought to a boil and reduced heat to low (the recommended medium heat caused it to boil over, so I kept our gas stove turned to low and then covered for 15 minutes). After the recommended time it seemed a little liquidy so I decided to keep on a couple of more minutes and also after removing from heat I let sit for 8 minutes instead of the recommended 5 minutes, after which it was ready to serve to my two kids and myself to sample.The smell was very good, and one of the kids mentioned it smelled like we were in one of their favorite Italian type pasta restaurants. I did not add any extra flavorings since I wanted to try it in its most basic form, knowing I could add flavor to future preps in the future if necessary. The taste was good. Especially for meals prepared for outdoor camping and survival purposes. I would personally doctor it up with maybe some garlic powder and some salt to add flavor, and may do something like tabasco for the leftovers of this first batch....however I can see why Legacy won taste tests for long term storage food. It's taste is better than I would demand for survival type food. The portion was good and in a food shortage situation this one packet would serve as a acceptable sized meal for our family of four. I think also I would like to purchase some of the freeze dried meat to complement the buckets of entrees I purchased, and will do so possibly in the future. But this product would still be good to have without the meat purchased to add. I have no plans to sample any of the other entrees at this time, but feel comfortable that they will be in line in terms of quality and taste with the one I did try, and that is enough for me. Since my youngest is picky and already ate breakfast prior to this sampling, the fact that he asked for more 2x lets me know that this is pretty good affirmation of the taste quality.I live on an island in the middle of the Pacific, so "food security" in times of crisis is a bigger issue than I think many consider. I am glad to have acquired this and hope that no circumstances arise that would require me to rely on this. But since I have it I am much more comfortable that I am giving my family a better chance of riding out a time period where food availability may be an issue until further "help" can arrive to us. Especially in this global political environment and the leaders we now have, you can never tell when problems that may force us to consider food provisions may arise. The only issue I can see with this is if there is limited or no access to water and fire/heat for the food preparation. Aloha.