Food items representing this category are dried peaches, pears and apricots, and dried beef. Food items such as nuts, granola bars and cookies are classified as natural form foods. They are ready to eat, packaged in flexible pouches and require no further processing before consumption in flight. The meat is cooked, packaged in pouches and sterilized by exposure to ionizing radiation so that they are stable at ambient temperature. Because many astronauts find that food tastes a little bland in space, NASA uses different condiments to spice up the food, such as catsup, mustard, mayonnaise, taco sauce and hot pepper sauce, as well as liquid salt and pepper.
Most condiments come in little packages, just as offered in cafeterias.
Instead of bread, flour tortillas are used to avoid crumbs. The tortillas are stabilized by packing them in a pouch with a modified atmosphere. The tortillas are packed in an air tight container together with oxygen scavengers. The oxygen scavengers remove the oxygen from the internal atmosphere and prevent mold growth. All beverages and drinks are contained in drink bags with straws.