British Army rations change

Press, 9 August 1988, Page 37

British Army rations change

BY

TONY VERDON

in London Tinned bully beef, on which the British Army has traditionally marched since the dying days of empire, is about to be replaced by curried chicken Madras and sweet and sour pork. The private soldier is gradually being introduced to an innovation in his 24-hour operational ration pack, the retort pouch. Housewives have been familiar with it for some years under its more prosaic name of boil-in-the-bag, but as “The Times” newspaper reports, change in the Army does not occur overnight. The new rations have been approved only after exhaustive research by the Armed Services Food Laboratory, in Hampshire. According to “Soldier” magazine, the advantages are that if the soldier should fall while carrying the new plastic food packs in his combat clothing, he is less likely to break a rib than if he fell on a tin. Additionally cooking the new meals requires less water, always a consideration with an army on the march, and the cooking water can be reused for making tea or shaving. The Ministry of Defence told “The Times” that the new plastic packaging allowed a greater flexibility of menus than did the tin. The Ministry’s victualling experts are converts to the gospel of healthy eating, and are even considering textured vegetable protein as a future food. The assistant director of supplies and transport for the British Army, Colonel Kerry Curtis, said the changes were partly forced by what servicemen experienced in private life. But the retort pouch will not entirely supplement the old stodge — for a long time yet the Army will rely heavily on the traditional “compo” rations which, being tinned, have a long shelf life.