Guest guest Posted August 30, 2007 Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 One from down under! Mark Dodd | August 30, 2007 IT'S a long time since a Digger fought on a bellyful of bully beef, but new space age ration packs for the Australian military are dispensing with cans altogether and will for the first time look after the vegan soldier. And for a change, the Tommy and the GI are lining up for bit of the culinary action under development by Australia's Defence Science and Technology Organisation. Stodgy old "rat pack" fare is being replaced with eight main courses in microns-thin food pouches, strong enough to survive an air drop. As well as including a vegetarian main course for the first time, the new rations will include vitamin-enriched, melt-proof chocolate, which has attracted the interest of the British and US militaries. "The chocolate is high melting point and will also have vitamins added to it - vitamin A, C and B group vitamins," said DSTO nutritionist Chris Forbes-Ewan. "Even more, we are working on protecting the vitamins from heat degradation to 50 degrees centigrade. "Lots of other nations who have heard about this, including our allies, are very keen about this and are beating a path to our door." Designated one-man combat rations, the new packs are designed to provide a basic level of sustenance and a measured 15,000 kilojoules of energy for about 24 hours. Vitamin A, C and B are the most important for people engaged in vigorous physical activity in harsh environments. DSTO is also researching the benefits of probiotics, so-called good bacteria that live in the large intestine and protect against infectious disease. "Not only are we planning to put probiotics in some of our foods. If the process works we will micro-encapsulate them as well so they are protected against harsh environments, including human digestive enzymes, and do their good work when they reach the large intestine," Mr Forbes-Ewan said. Defence nutrition scientists are working on a prototype hot-weather ration that should be ready for field testing in Darwin next year. Research and development is also being conducted on ration packs designed for "long-duration, low-intensity" operations. For ideas on reducing your carbon footprint visit For Good this month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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