Emergency Foods That Make You Go “I Didn’t Know This Existed!”

When a major disaster happens, you might run into trouble because food runs out or supplies don’t arrive.

Are you preparing emergency food and other supplies in case something happens?

I went to the Nishinomiya City Comprehensive Disaster Prevention Drill held on Tuesday, November 5.

There were lots of booths displaying emergency food and offering tastings, and since there were so many different kinds, I’d like to introduce some of them.

Cooking in Plastic Bags (Pack Cooking)

This “chili con carne” cooked in a plastic bag was introduced at the Coop Kobe booth.

It’s “chili con carne” made simply by putting mixed beans, canned soybeans, mixed vegetables, and meat sauce into a plastic bag and heating it in hot water! (Chili con carne is an American dish made by sautéing ground meat and onions, then simmering them with tomatoes, chili powder, boiled soybeans, and other ingredients.)

So easy! If you’re in a situation where you can use fire and boil water, you can make it with just canned boiled beans and meat sauce.

At the Coop Kobe booth, they introduced the “rolling stock method,” where you prepare by using what you store.

It’s a way to always keep food stocked by buying a little extra of your everyday groceries and replacing what you use.

If you go out of your way to buy emergency food for disasters, by the time you actually need it, the best-before date may have passed, or you may have trouble finding a place to store it…

With the rolling stock method, you’re just replenishing things you use regularly, so there seems to be less worry about food expiring.

Japan’s First Liquid Baby Formula: ICREO Baby Milk

What was introduced at the Ezaki Glico booth was Japan’s first liquid baby milk.

Aokureo baby milk has a shelf life of 6 months.

• Nutritional components close to breast milk (fat, carbohydrates, sodium)
• A reassuring “white” color that makes you want your baby to drink it easily
• The “paper carton” used most widely around the world
• Safe and reliable for long-term storage at room temperature

They say that as long as you have this milk and a sterilized baby bottle, you can feed your baby in about 10 seconds.

Of course it would be useful during disasters, but also when going out. For anyone with a baby or infant, it seems like a very reassuring product.

Speaking of Glico, of course they also had “Bisco,” as well as curry that can be eaten without heating.

“Tofu” That Can Be Stored at Room Temperature for a Long Time

At the Morinaga Milk Industry Co., Ltd. booth, I got to sample “tofu” that can be stored at room temperature.

My impression after tasting it: no matter how you look at it, it’s tofu! It tastes like tofu too!

It was good.

I had always thought tofu was normally refrigerated, so I was surprised to hear that this can be stored at room temperature and kept for as long as 216 days from the date of manufacture.

This tofu comes in a paper carton.

It seems the secret to its long shelf life is in that carton.

The material and structure block oxygen and light, helping preserve the quality of the food.

Apparently, you can buy it at post offices nationwide or online.

As a side note, at the Morinaga Milk Industry booth, one of the staff members asked me, “Are you from Nishi2?”

Apparently, Menya Gozan, which we wrote about on Nishi2, is run by someone the Morinaga Milk Industry staff member knows. They were happy that we had featured it on Nishi2, which made me happy too.

Various Relief Supplies

One part of the drill was called “Relief Supply Receiving and Distribution Training,” and relief supplies were actually handed out.

Students from Nishinomiya Imazu High School and Kwansei Gakuin University were distributing the supplies.

There were all kinds of sweet breads.

These are warm rice balls that are ready in 10 to 15 minutes after adding hot water.

Bonus

This is Imuraya’s Eiyokan, which was being handed out at the NTT West booth.

It can be stored for as long as 5 years!

Best-before date: February 9, 2025.

Somehow, when you see the number 2025, it feels like a really distant future.

Finally

When I heard “emergency food,” I had the impression that it was something you don’t eat regularly but keep on hand in case something happens. But after seeing the displays and tasting food at various booths this time, I realized that emergency food is really an extension of the things we normally eat. Plus, there are so many different kinds that it seems like you could eat them without getting tired of them.

There were also surprises like, “I didn’t know something like this existed!” So for now, maybe I’ll buy some of those portable rice balls that don’t need shaping, for a different kind of emergency: when I’m thinking, “I’m hungry…” or “I want a rice ball…”