.......................................................................................................................................
Pathogens In Canned Foods
What Causes Canned Food To Spoil
Eventually?
John Staughton
For anyone who has ever had a sliver of fear about a holocaust of any
kind – nuclear, zombie or otherwise – canned food has always been a logical
choice to put in your survival bunker.
In every movie about people surviving the end of the world, canned
food plays a major part.
For those less worried about the end of days, canned food is also an
excellent choice for camping and long-term storage in forgotten pantries.
However, what many people don’t realize is that canned food doesn’t
always last forever.
Canned food lasting for 5 years, or even a decade, is entirely
possible, but a number of factors can eventually make that canned food spoil.
The question is, why can’t it last forever? What can eventually make
canned food go bad?
Short Answer: Canned
food that is properly sterilized, processed and stored will not go bad,
although the flavors may change over time.
However, excess moisture, heat, sunlight and other factors can
compromise the integrity of the can and the food within it.
Why Does Canned Food Last So Long?
When food is canned, it is loaded into a brand-new, clean can and then
sealed.
The food is initially passed through rigorous quality testing, but
there is a final step where all the magic happens.
The fully sealed can is then heated so the food inside becomes cooked.
When bacteria and other nasty pathogens are heated beyond a certain
temperature (usually the boiling point of water – 212 degrees Fahrenheit), they
are neutralized or killed.
Since the can is sealed before this heating process occurs, no
additional bacteria or spores can make it into the can.
Therefore, when you open it up a few months, years or decades later,
the food should still be relatively fresh.
Food spoils because microorganisms come into contact with the food,
either through the air or something else touching the food.
These tiny organisms, like bacteria or fungi, need to eat, just like
humans and every other living creature.
Since they are on a food source, they begin to eat immediately, and
just like every other creature, they need to eliminate waste products.
The waste products from microorganisms cannot be metabolized by human
beings, and often have a foul taste, which we then label as being “spoiled.”
By eliminating those microorganisms, as the canning process does,
there can’t be much of a change in the quality or composition of the food.
However,
there is a bit more to the story….
How Does Canned Food Eventually Go Bad?
Despite your best intentions, and the best-designed fallout shelter
food supply, there are some factors that can affect the quality of canned food.
If your underground bunker or basement pantry is damp, or if the cans
get wet, oxidation and hydration processes can cause the can to begin to rust.
Even if the can doesn’t rust “through,” that oxidation process can
open the doorway for microorganisms to enter the food inside.
At that point, the feast begins, and the food will eventually spoil
and go bad, albeit slowly.
If a can is damaged, bent or dropped, it can compromise the
airtight seal of the can, making it easier for microorganisms to enter the can.
Furthermore, despite the sterilization process, some foods can still
contain dormant spores of microorganisms that aren’t completely eliminated.
If the can is exposed to sunlight (which is heat), the air inside the
can will begin to expand, and that temperature increase makes an ideal
environment for the microorganisms to begin to thrive and multiply.
This isn’t common, but it can certainly happen. Make sure to keep
canned food in cool, dry and dark places.
Some foods will eventually begin to break down and experience chemical
reactions between its component parts, particularly in highly acidic foods.
While this isn’t the same as traditional spoiling, it can change the
flavor and taste of the food, making in unpalatable when you finally open it up
on your camping trip.
This won’t make you sick, necessarily, but it won’t make for a
pleasant dining experience.
Finally, there isn’t a 100% guarantee that the sterilization and
canning processes will prevent any microorganisms from being present in the
cans.
Canned food manufacturers have extremely stringent regulatory
processes, but at-home canning methods (which are becoming increasingly
popular) are far from perfect.
If you want to keep yourself safe from any food-borne pathogens or
spoiled food, just use your common sense.
First, inspect the appearance and integrity of the can.
If that looks okay, open up the can and see if there are any visible
signs of microorganisms growing on the surface of the food or lid of the can.
Passing that test, give the food a sniff.
Lastly, taste the food to see if it seems normal. If there is any
doubt in your mind at any point in that process, toss the can.
Most canned food is rather inexpensive, even if you do it yourself,
and who can put a price on staying healthy?
John Staughton is a traveling writer, editor and publisher who
earned his English and Integrative Biology degrees from the University of
Illinois in Champaign, Urbana. He is the co-founder of a literary journal,
Sheriff Nottingham, and calls the most beautiful places in the world his
office. On a perpetual journey towards the idea of home, he uses words to
educate, inspire, uplift and evolve.
No comments:
Post a Comment