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
A food ration bar (also known as emergency food bar or compressed food 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 provid ...
), often used by
relief agencies for the emergency feeding of
refugee
A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...
s and
internally displaced person
An internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who is forced to leave their home but who remains within their country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the legal definitions of a refugee.
I ...
s.
Description
BP-5 is available in packs of two biscuit bars. Each box of nine packs contains 500 g of food, with approximately 2,300 calories per box. Its shelf life is five years.
[ The food is produced by Compact AS, based in Norway, and purchased by agencies through ]UNICEF
UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...
.[
]
Ingredients
Ingredients include baked wheat flour, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, sugar, soy protein concentrate, malt extract, minerals, amino acids, and vitamins.
Usage
BP-5 is used for disaster relief
Emergency management (also Disaster management) is a science and a system charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actu ...
and disaster preparedness
Emergency management (also Disaster management) is a science and a system charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actua ...
, and for emergency food rations in refugee camp
A refugee camp is a temporary Human settlement, settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for in ...
s, particularly for malnourished children. It is eaten directly, or mixed with water to make a porridge
Porridge is a food made by heating, soaking or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, fruit, or syrup to make a sweet cereal ...
.[
Typically, an adult is given 250 g 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.
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, blended foods here referring to porridge mixes.
BP-5, along with ]Plumpy'Nut
Plumpy'Nut is a peanut-based paste, packaged in a plastic wrapper, for treatment of severe acute malnutrition. Plumpy'Nut is manufactured by Nutriset, a French company. Feeding with the packets of this paste reduces the need for hospitalizati ...
(a peanut-butter supplement) was fed to visitors to a small mobile refugee camp created by Médecins Sans Frontières
(MSF; pronounced ), known in some English-speaking settings as Doctors Without Borders, is a charity that provides humanitarian medical care. It is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) of French origin known for its projects in conflict zo ...
(Doctors Without Borders) to travel to major world cities to raise awareness.
See also
* Humanitarian daily ration
Humanitarian daily rations (HDRs, "humrats") 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 ...
* , also called "butter mochi
A mochi ( ; Japanese ) is a Japanese rice cake made of , a short-grain Japonica rice, japonica glutinous rice, and sometimes other ingredients such as water, sugar, and cornstarch. The steamed rice is pounded into paste and molded into the ...
" (), a similar high caloric density food invented by Japanese matagi
The are traditional winter hunters of the Tōhoku region of northern Japan, most famously today in the Ani area in Akita Prefecture, which is known for the Akita dogs. Afterwards, they spread to the Shirakami-Sanchi forest between Akita and ...
hunters
References
{{reflist
Survival equipment
Norwegian inventions
Malnutrition