The Versatility of the Food Can: What Can’t It Do?

Four Key Benefits of Steel Food Cans Are Often Overlooked

By Tom Gordon, President, Food Packaging North America at Crown Holdings

Crop growing season is underway across the United States, which means farmers across the country are continuing the months-long process of preparing, planting and harvesting crops to be sold in grocery stores nationwide.

When you think of where these harvested goods end up, do you immediately think of the produce or frozen food sections of stores? What about the canned food in the center aisles of the supermarket?

Canned foods support healthy eating habits by providing consumers with high-quality, nutritious food options at any time of the year. Further, the inherent nature of metal packaging helps prevent food spoilage while promoting the circular economy, since steel food cans are easily recycled at the end of their lifecycle. Additionally, with trends in the U.S. indicating that consumers are becoming more health oriented and conscious of the origin of their products, brands can look to integrate coding systems to encourage greater transparency within the food supply chain. ¹

Let’s take a virtual walk down the center isle of a grocery store to dive into the key, often overlooked, benefits of steel food cans.

Maximizing Nutrition

Despite some assumptions that canned food is unhealthy or of lesser quality compared to fresh produce, the facts show otherwise. Compared to fresh produce, which can take up to three or more days to arrive at its destination, the crops for canning are picked at peak freshness and typically canned within hours to ensure the best flavor and highest nutrient density.

The food is then cooked in the can to destroy any bacteria, leaving a low oxygen environment that maintains the same levels of vitamins and nutrients for the can’s entire shelf life. As a result, the food remains stable in a can without the need for any chemical preservatives – an important distinction between canned and fresh foods.

Once packaged, food cans feature a tight seal and excellent barrier properties, protecting packaged contents from any exposure to light, air and humidity much more effectively than alternative formats. Each of these factors lead to canned food’s ability to be safely transported throughout the supply chain, eventually presenting consumers with fresh products throughout the year. These properties are key components of protecting food and ultimately aid in countering our nation’s food waste epidemic.

Combating Food Waste

Cans offer distinct advantages in the battle to fight food waste when compared to fresh food or food packaged in other formats. According to Feeding America, $473 billion worth of food is wasted annually in the United States, with 38% of all food going unsold or uneaten.[1] With canned food’s inherent benefits of extended shelf life, food safety and nutrient density, consumers can rely on canned products as a reliable, longer term food source compared to fresh produce, which may decay more quickly or be more easily harmed in transport.

Unfortunately, food waste occurs at different stages in the value chain due to various factors, such as overproduction on farms, product damage during transport or even misinterpretation of expiration labels. Starting from the early stages of the food supply chain, if excess product harvested by farmers were to be sent for canning, it would make a significant difference in reducing crops that are discarded due to differences in forecasted vs. actual demand.

Seasonal gluts are not uncommon, and a great deal of excess product is wasted when it could be encased in metal and presented to the consumer in a different format later down the line. Looking at it from the consumer side, reeducation on expiration labels is a massive opportunity for combating food waste, and smart labels are key opportunity for doing so.

Enhancing Transparency Through Labeling

In recent years, there has been a rise in solutions, such as code scanning systems, to help consumers research and track products. For example, a quick response (QR) code can be laser etched onto a product, making it easier for consumers to scan and be informed about the origin of the product, best practices and usage information. When it comes to canned food, QR codes can provide more detailed information for consumers, beyond the expiration dates that are often overlooked or misunderstood.

Based on a recent report from Recycle Track Systems, more than 80% of Americans discard perfectly good, consumable food simply because they misunderstand expiration labels.^[2] In efforts to reduce these numbers, brands can implement QR codes onto their food cans to provide their customers with clear information as to when their product will expire or nutritional benefits. By making this information accessible, companies can educate people on the true nature of product contents while building a long-term relationship built on trust and transparency.

Moreover, these systems make it easier for manufacturers to track and scan products, helping build a data trail to help prove authenticity to consumers and manage product recalls.

QR codes enable brands to gather valuable, real-time purchasing and consumption data, including who opened what content, when, and where the code was activated. This information allows brands to connect with individual consumers in ‘real time’ and will, in turn, help brands tailor subsequent campaigns to stay aligned with consumer behaviors, desires and needs.

Through these capabilities, smart labels hold the potential to provide an unprecedented level of transparency and engagement between brands and consumers.

A Seasoned Format Prevails

Canned food has been around for generations, and while society has changed significantly since its inception, the benefits of providing nutritious, safe food to customers in a recyclable format that combats food waste are still present to this day. Brands should not overlook steel food cans as a way to meet increasing consumer demand for nutritious, readily available food.

When integrating smart technology, consumers can obtain comprehensive information such as ingredients, nutritional facts and even product origin, helping improve overall product transparency. These techniques help companies build rapport with consumers and establish brand loyalty in a competitive marketplace.

References:

1. https://www.feedingamerica.org/our-work/reduce-food-waste#:~:text=Food%20waste%20statistics%20in%20the,all%20the%20food%20in%20America
2. https://www.rts.com/resources/guides/food-waste-america/

About the Author

Tom Gordon, President, Food Packaging North America at Crown Holdings, Inc., holds extensive manufacturing industry experience from various roles with Crown and previously with Tegrant Corporation. Tom holds a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing from Saint Leo University. With a robust skill set that includes packaging, corrugated, retail packaging, flexo, food packaging and more, Tom Gordon contributes valuable insights to the industry. Learn more at www.crowncork.com.

[1]https://www.feedingamerica.org/our-work/reduce-food-waste#:~:text=Food%20waste%20statistics%20in%20the,all%20the%20food%20in%20America.

[2] https://www.rts.com/resources/guides/food-waste-america/