Self-heating food in a can

The idea of a meal in a can seems wrong, so I don’t know what to make of the news from Food2, about a new British product that encapsulates meals in self-heating cans. Hotcan choices are non-toxic, have a three-year shelf life and “no unpleasant odor.”

“The ability for food and beverages to heat themselves sounds like the stuff of science fiction, but it’s not!” advertises Hotcan’s Web site. 

Chicken casserole, all day breakfast, vegetable curry, and sausages and beans are among the seven flavors — all of which seem to be crap shoots of different magnitude. Although the company only ships in England, there are “international oppertunities,” which, just based on the spelling, suggest the distribution network isn’t quite going to reach us in Kansas City.