Compared with magnesium types of FRH’s, this new type of FRH contains an efficient mixture of lime and aluminium and has the advantage of not emitting an unpleasant metallic smell when activated.
Flameless Ration Heaters, using magnesium, emerged in the early 1990’s to heat soldiers MRE’s (Meals Ready to Eat) in operational and training situations. MRE is the name given to a sealed, ready to eat meal, packed into an aluminium retort pouch. The advantages of these pouched meals are that they have a long shelf life (three or more years BB Date from production).
They are compact, easy to pack into military ration packs, jacket or backpacks and take up less storage space than tins. They can be kept in a cool, dry place until required, with no refrigeration needed.
Non Magnesium Flameless Ration Heaters TM are activated with a small amount of water, a sachet of which is included inside Hot Pack® and Action Pack® Self Heating Meals. An exothermic reaction then takes place, with heat and steam quickly produced. Inside 10-12 minutes a piping hot, delicious tasting meal is ready, to be eaten straight out of the pouch.