Canned Foods: A Dire Threat to Human Health

This article examines the potential health risks associated with the consumption of canned foods and provides an overview of the current state of the canned food process.

Fremont, CA: Foods in cans are very popular these days. Everything is accessible in cans, including pickled fruits, seasonal vegetables, and exotic fruits. We find this incredible as we can eat nearly any cuisine at any time of year, but hold on! This is cause for caution rather than happiness. Many rely on items in cans to satisfy their cravings. This is a simple and cost-effective solution, but we also need to consider the drawbacks of eating canned food.

Canned Foods and Their Production

In essence, foods with a lengthy shelf life are canned. They achieve this by adding preservatives to fresh foods during the canning process, after which they are sealed in airtight jars.

There are three steps in the canning process:

● Food processing: It includes tasks such as peeling, chopping, slicing, boning, shelling, and frying.

● Sealing: Preservatives are added to the cans, and the food is sealed.

● Heating: The cans are heated to a specific temperature to eliminate any potentially dangerous bacteria. This step extends the product's shelf life.

Foods like fruits, vegetables, meats, legumes, shellfish, and soups are frequently canned.

Drawbacks of Canned Foods

You might wonder if foods like pickles that are home-canning are also dangerous. We focus on commercially canned goods since they are high in chemicals and preservatives damaging to health. On the other hand, food safety is ensured with home canning since they use natural preservatives. However, they are also unhealthy due to their excessive oil or salt content.

Let's now discuss the drawbacks of eating canned food:

High on Preservatives:

The use of preservatives in canned goods is one of the primary arguments against them. They contain a lot of sodium because of the added sugar and salt, as well as additional food preservatives like:

● Nitrites: nitrosamines and nitrates

● 320 BHA, or Butylated Hydroxyanisole

● BHT (321 Butylated Hydroxytoluene) 

● Sulfites: 

● Benzene, Sodium Benzoate, and Potassium Benzoate

BPA- The bad chemical:

Bisphenol A, or BPA, is a common chemical added to various commercial products, such as food containers and hygiene products. To create tough plastic, this molecule is combined with various other substances. Food containers, infant bottles, and several more products employ this. Epoxy resin, which is applied to the inside lining of canned containers, is made using BPA. This keeps it from rusting and shattering. You won't believe the negative health impacts of BPA despite its seeming utility. BPS and BPF replace BPA, and the product is labeled as BPA-free! The industry promotes products that are BPA-free while including alternatives. These are all equally dangerous for your health.

Causes Botulism:

Although botulism poisoning is an uncommon ailment, it can become very serious if left untreated for an extended period. This disease is brought on by contaminated food, skin, or ground. Botulism can cause respiratory problems, paralysis, or even death. Botulism comes in three forms: wound, foodborne, and infant. 

Foods in cans provide Clostridium botulinum, the bacteria that generate the toxin that causes botulism, with a good growing habitat. The cause is that bacteria can only reproduce in environments devoid of oxygen. Foods that were improperly prepared for canning have a significant risk of causing botulism.

These are the major risks of canned foods. We can understand from the above dangers that canned foods remain a major threat to human life and health. While canned meals may be convenient, economical, quick, and easy to prepare, their negative health effects must be overlooked. Eat canned food only when necessary because it could lead to long-term health issues.