A food ration bar (also known as emergency food bar or compressed food bar)[1] 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,[2] while naval products place the emphasis on it being non-thirst-provoking.[3]
Some example ration bars are:
- A-28 (rice) and A-29 (wheat), two USDA humanitarian standard products[4]
- BP-5 Compact Food, fortified humanitarian[2]
- Datrex, for lifeboat use[3]
- Type 90, Chinese military ration
Food bar standards are issued by maritime agencies such as the U.S. Coast Guard[3] and humanitarian agencies such as the World Food Program,[1] 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.[5]
The experimental Close Combat Assault Ration for the US Army features several food bars,[6] produced using vacuum microwave drying and a new "sonic agglomeration" technology (a combination of ultrasonic welding and molding)[7] that removes the need of binding agents.[8]
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), a high caloric density food used by Japanese matagi hunters
References
External links
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