Introduction
Canned food, like cooked food, can vary in look and nutritional content. Food is canned by first boiling the contents of the container and then closing it to keep air and bacteria out. After the can/jar is sealed, it is warmed.
Food’s color and texture are frequently altered when heated. It also depletes vitamin C levels. However, canning efficiently kills a number of microorganisms and deactivates enzymes that would otherwise cause the food to deteriorate.
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PROS AND CONS OF CANNING
The retort pouch, a sealed plastic or aluminum bag, is a modern twist on canning. The food in the pouch is heated, but only for a fraction of the time required for canning. As a result, the pouch method preserves flavor, appearance, and heat-sensitive vitamin C better than other methods.
The food is also protected against deterioration caused by light or air in a sealed can or pouch, therefore the seal must remain unbroken. When the seal on a can or pouch is damaged, air creeps in and spoils the contents.
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Botulism
Botulism, a potentially fatal form of food poisoning caused by failing to heat canned food to high enough temperatures or for long enough to destroy all Clostridium botulinum (or C. botulinum) bacteria, is a more serious hazard linked with canned food.
Canning is done according to the temperatures and periods required to kill C. bot spores. C. botulinum is an anaerobic (anaerobic = without oxygen; aerobic = with oxygen) organism that flourishes in the lack of oxygen, which a sealed container provides nicely. Botulinum spores that haven’t been killed by high heat during the canning process may produce a toxin that can kill you by paralyzing your heart and breathing muscles.
THE DON’TS LINKED TO CANNED FOOD
Avoid buying, storing, or using any canned food that is possibly harmful.
Swollen, indicating that bacteria are multiplying and creating gas inside.
Because a breach in the can allows air to enter and may stimulate the growth of organisms, it should be damaged, rusted, or extensively dented along the seam (other than botulinum).