US FOOD technologists have invented dried rations that a soldier can rehydrate by using dirty water or even his own urine, the British weekly New Scientist reports.

 

The ration is surrounded by a plastic membrane made of a nanofibre that, according to its inventors, can filter out 99.9 percent of microbes and the most harmful toxic compounds, allowing only clean water to get to the preserved food.

 

So far, only one prototype - chicken and rice - has been tested, but the menu will be expanded to incorporate other down-home favourites if the concept proves popular.

 

The inventors are the Combat Feeding Directorate, part of the US Army Soldier Systems Center in Natick, Massachusetts.

 

Two years ago, their men and women came up with an "indestructible sandwich" that could stay fresh for three years.

 

The goal behind the latest gastronomic breakthrough is to reduce the amount of water that soldiers have to carry around with them, both within the food and for cooking it.

 

One day's food supply of three meals weights 3.5kg per person, but that can be reduced to a mere 400g with the dehydrated pouches.

 

New Scientist, which reports on the invention in next Saturday's issue, quotes experts as saying that rehydrating the food with urine should only be a last resort because the membrane is too coarse to filter out the chemical urea.

 

In the short term, the body will not find this toxic, but it could inflict kidney damage in the long term.

Perhaps Moises Alou would make use of this new form of technology!