Published: July 08, 2011
New Food Study Aims to Improve Timelines of MREs for US Soldiers
USF Polytechnic food study aims to get the best nutritional MREs to U.S. soldiers
The food that deployed U.S. military personnel eat is specially packaged to have a shelf life of nearly three years when stored at 80° F. But when exposed to extreme high temperatures, such as those in desert climates, the food can degrade in both sensory quality and nutrient content.
Across several colleges and interdisciplinary teams at the University of South Florida Polytechnic, as well as those at the University of Florida, researchers are helping the Department of Defense implement tracking technology to its food supply chain. The multi-faceted project, which pulls expertise from a wide array of disciplines, aims to establish better guidelines for storing foods and improving timelines for shelf life based on storage conditions.
Dr, Cecilia Nunes. (Photo by Tom Hagerty, USF Polytechnic.)
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Dr. Cecilia N. Nunes, assistant professor of nutrition and food science at USF Polytechnic, leads the segment of the larger multidisciplinary tracking study that will determine the quality and shelf life of pre-packaged food at various temperature extremes.
Specifically, Nunes will examine MREs (meals ready to eat), an individual meal usually warmed on-site and eaten by military personnel who are deployed in or near combat zones. Soldiers in the midst of fighting receive another type of food called FSRs (first strike rations), which are high energy, nutrient rich, compact, easy to open, and don't require preparation or heating. Nunes was part of another study that examined quality and shelf life of FSRs, establishing the groundwork for this MRE study.
For the 18-month MRE study, Nunes will test seven menu items, storing them at various temperatures (from 80° to 140° F) to reflect the changes the foods experience during shipping and handling and for varying lengths of time. At key points, she will measure various factors such as color, texture, water content, moisture content, pH, acidity, sugar and vitamin C contents and lipid oxidation, among other characteristics.
In tandem with Nunes' analysis at USFP of the physical and chemical states of the MREs, a team of researchers at the University of Florida will test the same MRE menu items treated in the same manner (temperature, as well as fluctuations in temperature) using a panel of trained tasters. These tasters will provide the more subjective opinions of the conditions of the MREs, simulating the experiences military personnel would likely have.
"Each step will be parallel," Nunes said.
"Both teams will pull the same menu item from the same storage conditions at the same date and time. Our analysis here at USFP will look at the physical and chemical composition of the selected ration items. UF's trained tasters, who know how the MREs are supposed to taste at their optimum, will provide the subjective flavor and texture analysis."
Menu items being studied include beef ravioli in meat sauce, pork sausage in cream gravy, jalapeno cheese spread, wheat chipotle snack bread, applesauce with mango and peach puree, chunky peanut butter, and nut raisin mix with M&Ms.
The results from both teams will be used in the larger study, which has an overall goal of improving and implementing a more cost-effective distribution system for maximizing the quality and nutritional value of the food for military personnel stationed in and near combat zones.
In addition, results could apply to the consumer market, Nunes said.
"The challenge is to provide foods in their optimum nutritional state because extreme low or high temperatures shorten the shelf life of the food," Nunes said.
"Overall, we're looking to help the DOD provide soldiers with food fit to eat when it arrives to a destination."
For more information contact Samantha Lane 863.667.7017, slane@poly.usf.edu
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