be rations stowed in lifeboats for use in the event of passengers and crews having to abandon ship. Nevertheless, their use in the field during diverse emergencies, such as the Ethiopia and Eastern Sudan famine of 1985 to 1986 and the more recent Balkans conflicts, have permitted an evaluation of their efficacy from the standpoint of nutrition, acceptability, ease of delivery, and some practical aspects such as potential for diversion seldom discussed in refereed publications. The following sections provide some aspects that representatives from various relief organizations urged be considered in developing specifications for the EFP.

Considering that the EFP is for use at the onset of emergencies, when infrastructure destruction and security considerations make it impossible to run feeding centers, the EFP should be available in a packaging modality amenable to low-altitude airdrop as well as delivery on land. There have been attempts to configure EFPs in ways that facilitate air delivery without damaging the product upon impact on the ground or hurting the intended recipients. Such packaging must also allow for dissemination of the product over a wide area so that it may reach many people. (Past experience indicates that concentrating the drop in the form of parachuted pallets, for example, contributed to hoarding, thus defeating the primary objective of ample distribution of the food relief, and also contributed to its diversion to unintended uses).

Information provided by relief organizations indicate that the high energy content of some EFPs, the density of nutrients in them, and the ease with which they may be carried has resulted in these products being collected by military combatants in emergency situations involving armed conflict. Biscuit-type EFPs are easily diverted to become military rations in emergencies involving armed conflict to the detriment of and even at a risk to the intended civilian recipients. The diversion is facilitated when the shape and size of the unit makes it easy to fit into the side pockets of military wear; rectangular, thin presentations seem to be best suited for this purpose. In addition, the use of eye-catching, glittery, space-age packaging materials encourages such diversion. It has been, therefore, the consensus among representatives of several relief agencies that the shape and size of the outside package of a successful EFP should be uncomfortable to carry in military pockets and should be made of nonlustrous materials. Furthermore, separation of the ration into smaller portions that cannot easily be rewrapped after opening also discourages diversion while aiding in apportioning the ration among children and adults.