A food brick. Calorie bricks. These are perfect for an emergency survival kit. Vacuum sealed. Water/moisture-proof. They have a great calorie-to-weight ratio. It’s a relatively lightweight and energy-dense food. The food brick is made up of individual food bars. It has been part of my prepping and preparedness emergency kits for years. I’ll show you an example below…
Way back when – many years ago – I decided to buy one of those so-called food bricks. I had to find out for myself. Are they any good? Is there a place for them in my overall survival food plan?
I discovered they’re great for supplementing an emergency kit. They’re also good for on-the-go, a hiking or camping trip, an emergency kit designed to travel (or your 72-hour kit in your vehicle, at work, etc..).
One such product is the Datrex food bar. It’s a food brick. A vacuum-sealed brick of several individually wrapped packages of food bars. My packaging has 18 bars. It looks kind of like a… brick.
Here’s why I like them:
An ideal emergency food bar for survival is calorie-dense. Why? Being dense with calories reduces the overall size and bulk of the product, which has advantages.
Datrex Food Brick Calorie Bar
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Datrex 3,600 Calories (2-pack)
(amzn)
What is the origin of the food brick? They are approved by the United States Coast Guard and were originally designed for use on lifeboats for emergency food storage. Therefore a great choice of emergency food to keep on any boat (waterproof).
The individual Datrex food bar (within the brick itself) contains 200 calories each.
They have a high energy value, are ready to eat, and are not thirst-provoking.
They have a 5-year shelf life. However, in my experience, they’re fine beyond that time. I had some 10-year-old bricks, still vacuum-sealed, and they tasted fine. The only thing I noticed was they were a bit crumbly after all that time…
They are made from all-natural ingredients and taste good for an emergency food bar. They are kind of like shortbread cookies.
Vacuum-sealed in a heavy-duty waterproof Mylar wrapper. Each of them is individually thinly wrapped.
Each food brick has 3,600 calories. How long will this last? If you were rationing 1,200 calories per day (just as a minimal example), you’re looking at 3 days of emergency food per brick. Otherwise more realistically, 1 or possibly 2 days depending on exertion and other factors requiring more calories.
TIP: Do you have a vacuum sealer machine? If you do, you might consider sealing each food brick. Even though they are already sealed, a double seal will help protect the possibility of a leak from handling, etc.., over time.
TIP: These bricks are perfect for keeping in a car, truck, or vehicle. I have several in my truck for an emergency situation in addition to other items in my 72-hour kit.
[ Read: 72 Hour Emergency Survival Kit ]
Datrex Food Bar Ingredient List
Wheat Flour, Vegetable Shortening, Cane Sugar, Water, Coconut, Salt
Calories (200)
Protein (7%)
Carbohydrate (65%)
Sugar (5 gm)
Salt (0.75 gm)
Total Fat (23%)
Saturated (21%)
Mono-Unsaturated (65%)
Poly-Unsaturated (14%)
Cholesterol (0.378 mg)
Food Brick by Datrex
Datrex is manufactured in the USA, Kinder, Louisiana.
Here’s a picture of an individual Datrex food bar to show how relatively small they are compared to other food bars.
Also, the CLIF bar. I have those too. They do not come in food bricks, so they won’t last as long. However, they are convenient, and another great food bar for densely packed energy.
[ Read: The CLIF BAR Energy Food Protein Bar ]
