Canned Food Spoilage

Canning is a method of preserving food in which the food contents are processed and sealed in an airtight container.  Canning provides shelf life typically ranging from one to five years, although under specific circumstances it can be much longer A freeze-dried canned product, such as canned dried lentils, , could last as long as 30 years in an edible state. Leakage is the most common cause of microbiological spoilage in canned foods.  Spoilage in canned foods by leakage can be caused by a variety of microorganisms that do not normally survive the heat treatment.  These microorganisms usually enter at the start of cooling through a faulty seam and produce a swelled can. Thermoanaerobacterium with the production of large quantities of H2 and CO2 gases, and causing sour fermentation at high temperatures in medium‐acid canned foods. Some species of spore‐forming psychrophilic bacteria have the ability to spoil refrigerated canned foods with production of gas, off‐flavors, and odors. The most important chemical spoilage of canned foods is the hydrogen swelling. Spoilage in these products does occur as a result of:

1.   Preprocess spoilage

2.   Inadequate processing

3.   Post-processing contamination