Canadian IMP (Individual Meal Pack)
The Canadian Armed Forces use a ration called the "Individual Meal Pack"
or IMP.
Each meal pack comes with one main entree, a dessert, several types of beverages,
a hard candy, and a package of cookies or a chocolate bar. The package may also
include such accessories as instant soup mix, instant mashed potatoes or instant
rice.
A single IMP contains food for one meal — breakfast, lunch, or dinner
— for one person. It is packaged in a way that makes it compact and lightweight.
The main courses can be eaten cold or hot by placing the pouches in boiling
water for five minutes. U.S. Flameless Ration Heaters (not included in IMPs) can also be used to heat IMP entrees.
Introduced in 1981, the average cost of a ration pack is $7.50, and 1.5 million
kits are packaged annually.
| Cases of IMPs |
3 Different Types of IMPs |
IMP Contents |
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 |
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Official IMP info:
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Individual Meal
Pack (IMP) – Combat Ration
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Purpose - to sustain the nourishing
needs of military personnel for one meal-day. Easy to heat, consumable
without heating, resistant to damage during transportation, not expected
to be used for more than 30 consecutive days.
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NATO requirement
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Canadian ration
|
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- provide minimum 3200 kcalories and maximum appropriate to energy
expenditure of personnel undergoing continuous and strenuous physical
activity
-
at
least 10% of kcalories from protein, 35 - 40% from fat
-
vitamin
and mineral content to satisfy U.S. Food and Nutrition Board
-
contain
some ready-to-eat items that can be eaten without addition of water, heating,
or mixing
-
should
include a bread equivalent, spread for bread (cheese, jam, etc), instant
beverage powder
-
shelf
life 2 years
|
Individual Meal Pack (IMP)
-
3 meals in one day provide approximately 3600 kcalories, which is adequate
for most operational activities. May
be supplemented with LMC as required
-
meets
Nutrition Recommendations for Canadians except Calcium and folic acid
(not significant if consumption period is less than 30 consecutive days)
-
meets
all other requirements
NSN
8970-21-887-9548 (breakfast/lunch)
NSN
8970-21-887-9549 (lunch)
NSN 8970-21-887-9550
(supper)
-
shelf
life 3 years from date of assembly
|
IMP menus
2008 IMP Menus (Click here for the full menus )
|
Menu #
|
Breakfast |
Lunch |
Supper |
|
1
|
Ham Steak w/Mustard Sauce
|
Hungarian Goulash
|
Navarin |
|
2
|
Beans with Wieners in Tomato Sauce |
Pork with Herbs and Wine Sauce |
Tarragon Chicken |
|
3
|
Scalloped Potatoes and Ham |
Macaroni w/Cheese Sauce |
Chicken Breast Cacciatore |
|
4
|
Sausage and Hash Browns |
Turkey and Vegetable Stew |
Cabbage Rolls and Tomato Sauce |
|
5
|
Sausage Links |
Beef Ravioli |
Salisbury Steak Dinner |
|
6
|
Omelette w/Salsa |
Beef Chop Suey |
Cheese Tortellini in Marinara Sauce |
2007 IMP Menus
2006 IMP Menus
| IMP Menu 2004 |
|
|
| Meats |
Fruits & Desserts |
Miscellaneous |
Ham Steak w/ Mustard
Scalloped Potatoes & Ham
Sausage & Hashbrowns
Beans & Weiners In Tomato sauce
Omlette w/ Mushroom Sauce
Breakfast Sausages
Thai Chicken
Cheese Ravioli’ Ub Rosee Sauce
Chicken Casserole w/ Rice
Salmon Filet Nature
Beef & Veggie Stew
Shepherds Pie
Beef Macaroni w/ Tomato Sauce
Pot Roast w/ Mushroom Sauce
Lasagna w/ Meat and Tomato Sauce
Chicken Breast w/ Gravy
Veal Cutlet w/ Lemon Sauce |
Peaches
Fruit Cocktail
Pears
Pineapple
Rasberry Apple Sauce
Spicy Apple Compote
Cherries
Sliced Apples
Apple Sauce
Baked Chocolate Dessert
Blueberries
|
Crunchie Cereals
Cinnamon Oatmeal
Bannana Oatmeal
Instant Dressing Mix
Instant Butter Garlic Rice
Instant Vegetable Rice
Sour Cream & Chives Mashed Potatoes
Bread
Assorted Cookies & Crackers
Assorted Chocolate Bars
Jam,Jellies, & Marmalade
Condiments
Butterscotch Pudding |
| Beverages |
Soups |
|
Coffee - Assorted
Tea
Hot Chocolate - Assorted
Herbal Tea - Assorted
Lemon Drink
Mango Drink
Orange - Pineapple Drink
Cherry Drink
Strawberry Drink
Passion Fruit Drink |
Chicken Noodle Soup
French Onion Soup
Beef Vegetable Soup
|
| IMP Menu 2002 Click here for the full
menu listing. |
| Breakfast/Lunch |
Lunch/Dinner |
Supper |
1 - Beans and Wieners in Tomato Sauce
2 - Scalloped Potatoes and Ham
3 - Sausage and Hash Browns
4 - Ham Steak w/ Mustard Sauce
5 - Cheese Omelette w/ Mushroom Sauce
|
1 - Rotini Primavera
2 - Green Pepper Beef
3 - Penne Rigati w/Meat and Tomato Sauce
4 - Shepherd's Pie
5 - Turkey and Vegetable Stew
6 - Hungarian Goulash
|
1 - Lasagna with Meat in Tomato Sauce
2 - Tarragon Chicken Strips
3 - Pork Chow Mein
4 - Veal Cutlet w/Mushroom Sauce
5 - Salisbury Steak Dinner
6 - Salmon Filet Nature
|
| IMP Menu 2001 |
| Breakfast/Lunch |
Lunch/Dinner |
Supper |
1 - BBQ Beans & Frankfurters
2 - Scalloped Potatoes & Ham
3 - Sausage & Hash Browns
4 - Ham Steak with Mustard Sauce
5 - Cheese Omelets with Salsa |
1 - Tortellini with Alfredo Sauce
2 - Chicken Casserole with Rice
3 - Chili Con Carne
4 - Sweet & Sour Pork
5 - Beef Bourgignon
6 - Beef Ravioli |
1 - Cabbage Rolls
2 - Chicken Breast Cacciatore
3 - Meatballs with Herb Sauce
4 - Pork with Herb & Wine Sauce
5 - Beef Stroganoff
6 - Salmon Filet Nature |
| IMP Menu 1997/1998 |
|
|
| Meats |
Fruits & Desserts |
Miscellaneous |
Ham Steak in Pineapple Sauce
Beans and Wieners
Sausage and Hash Browns
Macaroni & Cheese
Beef & Vegetable Stew
Cabbage Rolls
Shepherd's Pie
Beef Chop Suey
Beef Macaroni & Tomato Sauce
Salisbury Steak
Lasagna
Turkey and Vegetable Stew
Chicken Breast and Gravy
Veal Cutlet & Lemon Sauce
Hungarian Goulash
Meatballs in Gravy |
Peaches
Fruit Cocktail
Pears
Pineapple Tidbits
Cherries
Apples
Apple Sauce
Baked Cherry Dessert |
Blueberry Apple Cereal
Crunchie Cereal
Maple Oatmeal Cereal
Mashed Potatoes
Dressing Mix
Lemon Pudding
Assorted Jams
Bread
Mini Biscuits
Caramel Pudding
Steak Sauce
Pepper Sauce
Cranberry Jelly
Plain Rice |
| Beverages |
Soups |
|
Coffee
Tea
Hot Chocolate
Orange
Passion Fruit
Grape
Mixed Fruit
Lemon
Peach
Cappacino Coffee |
Cream of Chicken
Onion
Vegetable Beef
Cream of Mushroom
Chicken Noodle
Mediterranean Chicken
|
Various IMP Menu Entrees
Breakfast menus
ham steak w/mustard sauce
sausage and hash browns
beans and weiners
scalloped potatos and ham
cheese omelette w/salsa |
Lunch menus
chicken a la king
beef chop suey
macaroni w/cheese sauce
beef teriyaki
spaghetti w/meatballs
zesty turkey and vegetable stew |
Supper menus
cannelloni w/meat in rosee sauce
chicken breast w/brown gravy
veal cutlet w/lemon sauce
meatloaf w/onion sauce
salmon filet nature
beef steak w/brown gravy |
Desert Pack
sliced pears, cherries, apples, peaches, apple sauce, fruit cocktail,cherry
desert or blueberries.
candy, bread, jam, honey or peanut butter, salt, pepper, sugar, coffee,
creamer, spoon, handywipe, napkin, tooth pick, matches, cookies or a chocolate
bar
might also contain mashed potatos or rice depending on the meal |
IMP Entrees
Some IMP entrees are produced by a company called "Freddy Chef" while others are produced by the American MRE manufacturer "The Wornick Company".
Here is an example of what the Freddy Chef entrees look like:
The IMP entrees are a little bit bigger/heavier than the US MRE entrees:
| IMP Entree |
MRE Entree |
| 8.8 oz. (250g) |
8 oz. (226g) |
Some people say the IMP entrees have "more food than an MRE entree"
but from the IMP entrees I've seen/eaten, there's a lot more water (sauce, etc.)
in the IMP entrees. Substance-wise, you get about the same amount of calories
per entree no matter which one you eat.
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