A self-activating heater for meals ready-to-eat made with recycled oyster shells. CNA photo Nov. 10, 2026
Taipei, Nov. 10 (CNA) Taiwan's Fisheries Research Institute said Monday that it had developed a self-activating heater for MREs (meals ready-to-eat), using recycled oyster shells, suitable for use in the military and for outdoor activities such as camping.
Kao Yi-feng (高翊峰), an associate researcher in the institute's Seafood Technology Division, said 160,000 metric tons of oyster shells are discarded in Taiwan every year.
While most of the shells are repurposed for uses such as animal feed, fertilizer and cat litter, around 23,000 metric tons per year are discarded as waste, Kao said at a press conference.
To make use of these leftover shells, the Fisheries Research Institute under the Ministry of Agriculture has developed a method to process them into a self-activating heat source for MREs, and is promoting the technology to private companies.
According to Kao, oyster shells are composed primarily of calcium carbonate. When processed at high temperatures by researchers, the material can be converted into calcium oxide, he said.
In the heater pack developed by the institute, the calcium oxide comes into contact with water, which causes it to undergo a rapid chemical reaction that releases a significant amount of heat, Kao explained.
When an instant meal is placed in the heater pack with 150 milliliters of water, this reaction can heat the water to 80-95 degrees Celsius in 7-8 minutes while warming the contents of the MRE to about 50 degrees, the institute said.
The Fisheries Research Institute said it has already signed an agreement licensing the heater technology to a private company. It has also signed a non-exclusive agreement with another firm to produce seafood-based MREs, it said.
Compared with the new locally developed, environmentally friendly product, the MRE heaters currently on the market in Taiwan are imported and contain chemical powder blends, the institute said.
The institute said its MRE heater is suitable for use by the military and disaster relief organizations, as well as by civilians engaging in outdoor activities like camping.
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