Food ration bar

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.

Chinese civilian market "type 900" compressed food, derived from the military "type 90".

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] Steve1989MREInfo has a review of CCAR.[9]