Product Code Database
A field ration is a type of prepackaged Military rations designed to be easily and quickly prepared and consumed in the Battlefield, 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.
Field rations differ from 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.
Names used for field rations vary by military and type, and include combat ration, ration pack, battle ration, iron ration, food packet, operational ration pack, or meal ready-to-eat ( MRE); the latter is widely used but informal, and more accurately describes a specific U.S. field ration, the design and configuration of which has been used worldwide since its introduction in the late 20th century. Field rations may be divided into two types: individual rations, which are intended to sustain a single soldier; and group rations, which are intended to sustain multiple soldiers in numbers ranging from a fireteam to a platoon.
Field rations may come in different varieties, or carry multiple meals, for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or supper. Vegetarianism, Veganism, and religious diet variants may be available if a military's demographics necessitate them. Specialized variants of field rations may exist for different environments, situations, and roles, such as cold-weather warfare, mountain warfare, jungle warfare, desert warfare, long-range reconnaissance patrols, and Crew variants.
The meals offered in a field ration often come in multiple different "" (varieties) predominantly featuring foods from a military's national or traditional cuisine—and, if diverse enough and possible under the constraints of a field ration, fusion cuisine such as soul food or Anglo-Indian cuisine—intended to evoke the "taste of home" while on deployment or away. Some rations include commercially available items, often snacks such as , Charms, and Yorkie bars. However, basic or less-accommodating rations (usually emergency rations) may consist of very simple meals intended to provide enough nutrients and energy to keep a soldier combat-ready or alive, like compressed food bars.
Field rations are commonly issued to land forces such as Army, marines, and air force ground forces, who may spend lengthy periods of time away from fixed food sources. Navy and are not commonly issued field rations as they are closely attached to the rear or steady supplies of food, prepared in galleys aboard Naval ship and flight kitchens at . Rations may still be issued to personnel in certain situations or roles, like long-range flight rations for bomber, transport, and reconnaissance aircraft crews, who could otherwise spend hours in flight without food.
NATO categorizes ration packaging under three types:
| +NATO standard for operational individual rations (AMedP-1.11) (General Purpose Individual Operational Ration) ! colspan="2" | Minimum Nutrient Content Standards ! colspan="2" | Additional Nutrient Content Recommendations | |
| Energy | 3,600 Calorie (15,070 Joule) | Total fiber | 30 g |
| Carbohydrate | 404–584 Gram | Riboflavin | 1.3 mg |
| Protein | 118–185 g | Niacin | 16 mg |
| Fat | 54–140 g | Pantothenic acid | 6 mg |
| Vitamin A | 900 Microgram | Biotin | 30 μg |
| Thiamine | 1.2 mg | Vitamin E | 10 mg |
| Vitamin B6 | 1.3 mg | Vitamin K | 70 μg |
| Vitamin B12 | 2.4 μg | Choline | 550 mg |
| Folate | 400 μg | Phosphorus | 1,000 mg |
| Vitamin C | 45 mg | Iodine | 150 μg |
| Vitamin D | 5 μg | Selenium | 55 μg |
| Calcium | 1000 mg | Molybdenum | 45 μg |
| Zinc | 14 mg | Copper | 1.8 mg |
| Iron | 8 mg | Chromium | 35 μg |
| Magnesium | 410 mg | Manganese | 5.5 mg |
| Potassium | 3,800 mg | Fluoride | 4 mg |
| Sodium | 2,300–12,000 mg |
NATO standardization states that, while main courses and entrées must be consumable without heating, main course components and hot beverages should be provided with a heater, with such items intended to be heated to a minimum temperature of 62 °C from an ambient temperature of 20 °C within 12 minutes.
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