A food ration bar (also known as emergency food bar or compressed food bar) is a type of biscuit generally included in emergency rations and compact field rations. A cross between a hardtack and an energy bar, these shelf-stable products provide a high caloric density and are generally made of grain flour, sugar, and vegetable oil.
Food ration bars may be consumed directly or broken up and mixed with water for a porridge. The composition depends on usage: humanitarian versions place a focus on protein content and nutrition fortification, while naval products place the emphasis on it being non-thirst-provoking.
Some example ration bars are:
- A-28 (rice) and A-29 (wheat), two USDA humanitarian standard products
- BP-5 Compact Food, fortified humanitarian
- Datrex, for lifeboat use
- Type 90, Chinese military ration
Food bar standards are issued by maritime agencies such as the U.S. Coast Guard and humanitarian agencies such as the World Food Program, each for their respective use cases.
Food ration bars under the name of 压缩干粮 "compact dry food" are a core part of the military food of the Chinese People's Liberation Army for field and emergency use.
The experimental Close Combat Assault Ration for the US Army features several food bars, produced using vacuum microwave drying and a new "sonic agglomeration" technology (a combination of ultrasonic welding and molding) that removes the need of binding agents.
See also
- High energy biscuit, a World Food Program standard product for humanitarian use; functionally similar but are proper biscuits in form
- Ninja diet
- butter mochi (Akita style) [ja], a high caloric density food used by Japanese matagi hunters
References
- ^ "Specialized nutritious foods". World Food Programme. Archived from the original on 2017-04-25. Retrieved 2017-04-22.
- ^ Final Report on Development of an Emergency Food Product: Product and Packaging Specifications, Shelf Life Study and Drop Test Synopsis (PDF). United States Agency for International Development (Report). March 2007.
- ^ "Best emergency rations (lifeboat food bars)". The Prepared. 15 November 2020.
- https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/efp2.pdf
- 军报梳理人民军队单兵口粮发展史：从压缩饼干到自热食品 [Military newspaper goes through the PLA's individual ration development: from ration bars to self-heating food]. 澎湃新闻.
- "More nutrition to fuel Soldier lethality". Defense Logistics Agency.
- Kord, Tyler (June 29, 2019). "Cooking (and Shrinking) the Modern Combat Ration". www.yahoo.com.
- "New High Energy Bar from SOUND Seeks to Transform Combat Rations". WorldBakers. 6 March 2023.
External links
- 2019 PLA LQ-002 Compact 24 Hour Food, review by Steve1989MREInfo on YouTube – example of Chinese food bars in current use