BP-5 Compact Food (also known as a BP-5 biscuit) is a high-calorie, vitamin fortified, compact, compressed and dry emergency food (food ration bar), often used by relief agencies for the emergency feeding of refugees and internally displaced persons. [1]
BP-5 is available in packs of 2 biscuit bars. Each box of 9 packs contains 500g of food, with approximately 2,300 calories per box. Shelf life is 5 years. [1] The food is produced by Compact AS, based in Norway, and purchased by agencies through UNICEF. [1]
Ingredients include baked wheat flour, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, sugar, soy protein concentrate, malt extract, minerals, amino acids, and vitamins. [2]
BP-5 is used for disaster relief and disaster preparedness, and for emergency food rations in refugee camps, particularly for malnourished children. It is eaten directly, or mixed with water to make a porridge. [1]
Typically, an adult is given 250g per day. Although this is a calorie deficit, it provides the recommended protein and basic vitamin requirements. Because it is easily digestible, neutral tasting, and contains no dairy or meat products the food may be widely used, even for people with severe malnourishment. [3]
One study found that its portability made it susceptible to cheating and black-market trade and recommended to switch to "blended foods" as and when practical, [4] blended foods here referring to porridge mixes.
BP-5, along with Plumpy'nut (a peanut-butter supplement) was fed to visitors to a small mobile refugee camp created by Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) to travel to major world cities to raise awareness. [5] [6]
The Meal, Ready-to-Eat (MRE) is a self-contained individual United States military ration used by the United States Armed Forces and Department of Defense. It is intended for use by American service members in combat or field conditions where other food is not available. MREs have also been distributed to civilians as humanitarian daily rations during natural disasters and wars.
The C-ration was a United States military ration consisting of prepared, canned wet foods. They were intended to be served when fresh or packaged unprepared food was unavailable, and survival rations were insufficient. It was replaced by the similar Meal, Combat, Individual (MCI) in 1958; its modern successor is the Meal, Ready-to-Eat (MRE).
Rationing is the controlled distribution of scarce resources, goods, services, or an artificial restriction of demand. Rationing controls the size of the ration, which is one's allowed portion of the resources being distributed on a particular day or at a particular time. There are many forms of rationing, although rationing by price is most prevalent.
Hardtack is a type of dense biscuit or cracker made from flour, water, and sometimes salt. Hardtack is inexpensive and long-lasting. It is used for sustenance in the absence of perishable foods, commonly during long sea voyages, land migrations, and military campaigns. Along with salt pork and corned beef, hardtack was a standard ration for many militaries and navies from the 17th to the early 20th centuries.
Famine relief is an organized effort to reduce starvation in a region in which there is famine. A famine is a phenomenon in which a large proportion of the population of a region or country are so undernourished that death by starvation becomes increasingly common. In spite of the much greater technological and economic resources of the modern world, famine still strikes many parts of the world, mostly in the developing nations.
Rice milk is a plant milk made from rice. Commercial rice milk is typically manufactured using brown rice and brown rice syrup, and may be sweetened using sugar or sugar substitutes, and flavored by common ingredients, such as vanilla. It is commonly fortified with protein and micronutrients, such as vitamin B12, calcium, iron, or vitamin D.
Kakuma is a town in northwestern Turkana County, Kenya. It is the site of a UNHCR refugee camp, established in 1992. The population of Kakuma town was 60,000 in 2014, having grown from around 8,000 in 1990. In 1991, the camp was established to host unaccompanied minors who had fled the war in Sudan,Somalia and from camps in Ethiopia. It was estimated that there were 12,000 "lost boys and girls" who had fled here via Egypt in 1990/91.
United States military ration refers to the military rations provided to sustain United States Armed Forces service members, including field rations and garrison rations, and the military nutrition research conducted in relation to military food. U.S. military rations are often made for quick distribution, preparation, and eating in the field and tend to have long storage times in adverse conditions due to being thickly packaged or shelf-stable.
The K-ration was a United States military ration consisting of three separately boxed meal units: breakfast, dinner, and supper. It was originally intended as an individually packaged daily ration for issue to airborne troops, tank crews, motorcycle couriers, and other mobile forces for short durations.
Plumpy'Nut is a peanut-based paste in a plastic wrapper for treatment of severe acute malnutrition manufactured by Nutriset, a French company. Feeding with the 92-gram packets of this paste reduces the need for hospitalization. It can be administered at home, allowing more people to be treated.
Humanitarian daily rations (HDRs) are food rations manufactured in the United States intended to be supplied to civilians and other non-military personnel in humanitarian crises. Each is intended to serve as a single person's full daily food supply, and contains somewhat over 2,200 calories (9,200 kJ). They have shelf-lives of about 3 years, and their contents are designed to be acceptable to a variety of religious and ethnic groups. The meals cost approximately one-fifth of the cost of a Meal, Ready-to-Eat (MRE), or US$4.70 in 2012. The rations were first used in Bosnia in 1993 as part of Operation Provide Promise.
A field ration is a type of prepackaged military ration designed to be easily and quickly prepared and consumed in the field, in combat, at the front line, or where eating facilities are otherwise unavailable. Field rations are primarily used by military forces, though they are also sometimes distributed to civilians as part of humanitarian aid and emergency management. They differ from garrison rations and field kitchen provisions, which are intended for where proper meals can be supplied and prepared with relative ease and safety, such as in the rear where logistics are steady and fresh food can be supplied. They are similar to, but distinct from, other purpose-designed long-lasting types of food or rations such as emergency rations, humanitarian daily rations, and camping food.
The Individual Meal Pack or IMP is one type of field ration used by the Canadian Forces. The IMP is designed so that a continuous diet provides all the nutrition needed to sustain a service-person in the field. The IMP meets Canada's nutrition requirements, with the exception of calcium and folic acid, which are not significant if the consumption period of rations is less than 30 (consecutive) days. IMPs provide 1,200–1,400 calories (5.0–5.9 MJ) per meal.
Atmit is a nutritional supplement used to fight famine in impoverished countries. Historically, atmit was used regularly to nourish and support women in their post-partum periods. The richness of protein and calories would help encourage milk production and restore strength to the mother after the exhaustion of labour and significant bloodloss post-delivery. It was later found that the cultural and traditional dish that is still used today for women in Ethiopia and across the diaspora could also be used to support undernourished people worldwide. The creamy, nutritious food is indigenous to Ethiopia and is now used to feed the severely malnourished and weakened adults and children. The word atmit originated in Ethiopia and refers to a kind of "thin, nourishing porridge." Traditionally, Atmit can contain over 20 different cereals and recipes can vary widely.
Emergency rations are items of food and drink that a person stores and relies on in case of an emergency. Emergency food supplies can be purchased for camping trips or wilderness adventures. These supplies are meant to last for several days. Many people also purchase long shelf life emergency food in case of natural disasters or other emergency situations. The food can come in the form of a powder, freeze dried, smoked or salted. The rations are to help people survive until help arrives and are often carried while hill walking or mountaineering, because of the risk of being stranded by an accident. In some organised events, such as Ten Tors, it is obligatory to carry emergency rations.
Ensure is an American brand of nutritional supplements and meal replacements manufactured by Abbott Laboratories.
High Energy Biscuits (HEB) are food ration bars containing high-protein cereals and vegetable fat. Because of their high energy-to-weight ratio they are procured by the World Food Programme, the food aid branch of the United Nations, for feeding disaster victims worldwide.
The history of military nutrition in the United States can be roughly divided into seven historical eras, from the founding of the country to the present day, based on advances in food research technology and methodologies for the improvement of the overall health and nutritional status of U.S. military service members. Through the research and guidance of medical and military professionals, rations and packaging have been consistently and dramatically improved.
A food ration 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.
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