Food bars

Ration bars are shelf stable and highly dense emergency foods. Primarily found on lifeboats, they can also be used in any other location which require a long shelf life (best before date are generally 5 - 10 years, depending on the manufacture), little care, space efficient, harsh environment resistant and ready to eat food.

There are many brands available, with different sizes (generally 2400 and 3600 calories, but 1200 is also available):

- Datrex
- SOS
- Seven oceans
- NRG-5
- BP-5

Some of these brands come in a small cardboard box, some don't. All bars I know are packed in thick vacuum sealed mylar bags with tear notches. Inside are usually little bars wrapped in plastic, although I remember having one which didn't had the plastic wrap. These little plastic wraps are very fiddly to open and the seam in the plastic is very hard to see. So realize they are very hard to open if your hands are cold or if you can't see very well.

The ration bars them self taste like crumple and greasy cookies. Fairly neutral tasting, easy to digest, no meats and no dairy. Making them eatable for most people. Some have certain tastes, but they are very faint and sometimes only noticeable as a smell when you tear open the Mylar package. They do feel dry and after eating more then 2 bars, you certainly want to flush it down with some water, despite the fact they are 'non-thirst provoking'. For me personally, the bars do not give a 'full' feeling, but I do normally eat more than 2400 calories a day. Certain brands add more vitamins and minerals than others. Datrex has very little vitamins and minerals added, while the BP-5 has a lot more. For children, most packages suggest making a porridge by crumbling and adding water to the bars.

These bars are not only to put in your own survival kits, but also useful for emergency aid. Providing small packages of easy to eat food to people in need. However buying food locally can be quicker, cheaper and the people are more used to eating local foods.