Canning

Abstract

Tin cans were designed to be functional—that is, to contain food for long periods without puncture or interaction of the can and the contents. Appearance and consumer convenience played little part in design and to a large extent the needs of those shipping and storing were ignored. Development was concentrated on rates of filling and handling by the supplier of the packaged product, leading to a very close relationship of the tinplate and food manufacturing industries but a very wide gap between the tinplate industry and the retailer or the ultimate consumer. Over the past twenty years there has been serious effort to close this gap between the tinplate industry and the ultimate consumer, bringing innovations such as the slimline can and tear-off systems of opening.