WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With the holidays fast approaching, the North American Metal Packaging Alliance, Inc. (NAMPA) and the canned food industry wish to remind America’s families of the unprecedented run of food safety represented by the many canned foods that are part of holiday meals. Thanks to innovations in metal packaging technology, it has been more than 30 years since an incident of food borne illness has been linked to a failure in metal packaging. Indeed, canned food is much more than an economical way of providing fresh and nutritious food that can be served anytime. It plays an important role in food safety.
“It’s easy to lose sight of the fact that the risk of food borne illness from canned foods is a thing of the past, thanks to the technological innovations in manufacturing that have made the metal can the premiere packaging option for foods and beverages,” said Dr. John Rost, Chairman of NAMPA. “The latest advances in materials and coatings, as well as state-of-the-art visual and mechanical inspection of every single can that is manufactured, are integral to a food safety record for metal packaging that is without parallel today.”
Throughout its 200-year history of feeding the world, the can has remained an engineering marvel, with continuous innovations designed to maintain the can’s performance and position at the top of the packaging hierarchy. The metal can’s record of food safety is even more impressive when you consider the volume of cans produced. Over 130 billion cans are manufactured in the United States each year, with over 4,300 cans produced each second. Modern manufacturing processes now employ up to three high speed cameras to monitor production lines continuously, providing visual inspection of the can’s lining, as well as of the quality of the can’s vacuum seal, welds, and seams. This 100 percent inspection ensures the structural integrity of the can, virtually eliminating the risk of food borne illness.
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), there has not been a single reported case of botulism as a result of the structural failure of metal food packaging in over 30 years. This success rate is also concurrent with the introduction of modern can linings, which not only provide critical corrosion resistance that keep food products from interacting with metal, but also protect the integrity of the can and prevent bacterial or microbial contamination.
“Decades of research and development have gone into making sure metal cans continue to provide the highest quality food content that is nutritious, flavorful, and safe for consumers,” Rost added. “Our industry is fully engaged and committed to consumer safety so that when families come together for Thanksgiving dinner, their only concern is whether to have that second helping or not.”
About NAMPA
The North American Metal Packaging Alliance, Inc. and its members support sound science and trust the scientific review process that has protected our food supply for decades. For further information, visit www.metal-pack.org.
