Humanitarian Daily Ration (HDR) Review Pouch Contents Main Meals (2) Beans and rice in tomato sauce Lentil stew Snacks (4) Shortbread cookie Fig bar Pop Tarts brand strawberry pastry Pilot style crackers (2 packages consisting of 2 crackers) Peanut butter Strawberry jam Accessory packet consisting of spoon, napkin, wet wipe, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, sugar and matches Much like MREs, all items are well wrapped individually and packed into a heavy plastic pouch.
Appearance and taste The beans and rice in tomato sauce looked and smelled like Campbell’s pork and beans with the added component of rice. The meal looked a little dry so after removing it from the pouch, I added it to a dish with a little water and heated it in a microwave. The pouch could alternatively be placed in a pan of boiling water for about 10 minutes. The taste and texture was good. No off or strange flavors. The lentil stew was heated in the same manner. This meal was also good. Both meals were on the bland side in accordance with their mission objective and would for me be improved with the addition of some form of seasoning. Snacks The shortbread cookies was not up to the standard of the traditional Scottish cookie but more like a sugar cookie. It smelled fresh and was crispy and quite large. The fig bar also smelled fresh and was tasty but to me seemed very sweet. This could be due to my several years worth practice of avoiding sugar. The PopTart was without frosting, smelled a little stale and did not taste very good. But I have never liked them. The pilot style crackers were crispy and intact. They were also bland. The peanut butter and strawberry jam were excellent and the equivalent of commercial products. Conclusion The quality and taste was more than acceptable to me and at $31.50 per case of 10 pouches which contain 2 meals and various sides each are a worthwhile addition to my program. I have been too lazy to go check but I believe that all the meals in a case are the same. Not a concern in the situation they will be used. Precautions and warnings The proper storage of rations of this type are crucial to their palatability. High heat and over long shelf time willl limit their usefulness. There is a sticker on the case that will indicate exposure to high heat. There are markings on the case that indicate date of manufacture, inspection date and in some cases expiration date. Expiration date is usually 5 years from manufacturing date. I looked at about 15 vendors and their products had manufacturing dates of 2019 to 2022. Some were touting the inspection date as if it were the manufacturing date. Also since some vendors are selling less than full cases, I would stay away from buying odd lots. Be advised that manufacturing dates are only placed on the outside of the case and not on the meal pouches.
