Analysis of
Canned Foods

The production and marketing of canned foods present producers and retailers with complex challenges. It is important to ensure the long shelf life that is characteristic of canned foods. This requires microbiological testing during and after production to ensure that no harmful microorganisms survive in the cans and that the canned food remains safe for consumption for years to come.

Determining the best-before date of a canned food product is no easy task for manufacturers, as shelf life depends on numerous variable factors such as recipe, manufacturing process, and packaging. Manufacturers of canned foods must conduct complex and lengthy stability studies to ensure product quality and safety throughout the entire storage period under various conditions. Ultimately, they bear sole responsibility for ensuring that their product retains its guaranteed properties and is safe for consumption until the specified best-before date. This requires continuous monitoring and adjustment.

Another challenge for manufacturers is the relationship between long shelf life and taste. For many foods, shelf life is achieved through a sterilization process. This requires intensive heat treatment, which can affect the taste and texture of the food. A balance must be found that offers maximum safety with optimal sensory quality.

Bisphenol A is strictly regulated

The EFSA has identified bisphenol A as a potentially hazardous ingredient in food cans. Manufacturers must ensure that bisphenol A and other substances in the inner coating of food cans do not migrate into the contents. BPA has traditionally been used in the inner coatings of food cans to prevent corrosion. However, the chemical is considered an endocrine disruptor that interferes with the action of human hormones and thus raises health concerns. Manufacturers are therefore required to comply with the limits for foodstuffs or switch to bisphenol A-free alternatives.

The European Union has already issued comprehensive regulations prohibiting BPA in food contact materials for infants; strict limits apply to other contact materials. This obliges the industry to engage in continuous innovation and ongoing monitoring to ensure consumer safety.

Various product-specific analyses and procedures may be used depending on the product.

Analysis of residues and contaminants

The safety of canned food samples is ensured by precise residue analysis, in which undesirable substances are reliably detected or ruled out using a wide range of methods, including gas chromatography (GC), liquid chromatography (LC/HPLC), and (high-resolution) mass spectrometry (MS/HRMS). The tests used depend on the contents of the canned food and the parameters to be examined. The Tentamus Group's laboratories use a special pesticide combination method that enables the analysis of a canned food sample for more than 900 pesticides.

The following residues and contaminants, among others, can be detected:

• Bisphenol A (BPA)
• 3-MCPD esters
• Pesticides
• Heavy metals
• MOSH/MOAH
• Quaternary ammonium compounds, BAC and DDAC

Microbiological testing

The most important microbiological laboratory tests of canned foods aim to ensure sterility and rule out spoilage organisms and pathogenic microorganisms. Since most canned foods are preserved by heat treatment (usually sterilization), the absence of microorganisms capable of reproduction after production is crucial. This applies in particular to spore-forming organisms such as Clostridium botulinum, which can produce toxins in the absence of oxygen. Typical tests therefore include incubation tests at different temperatures to detect the growth of thermophilic, mesophilic, and psychrophilic spore-forming organisms. This is followed by macroscopic and microscopic checks for signs of spoilage (e.g., bulging, pH changes) and the presence of germs in the can.

Our laboratories offer the following microbiological tests, whereby the testing of pathogens depends on the contents of the canned food being tested:

• Sterility tests: Incubation for 10 days at 37°C, aerobic and aerobic mesophilic total bacterial count, aerobic and anaerobic spore formers) 
• Total bacterial count (aerobic mesophilic & anaerobic mesophilic) 
• Salmonella 
• Bacillus cereus 
• Staphylococcus aureus 
• Thermophilic aerobic spore formers 
• Thermophilic anaerobic spore formers 
• Listeria 
• Clostridia 
• Clostridium botulinum

Further tests & labeling

Our laboratories offer the following tests and checks, which ensure that all food law requirements for canned food are met:

• Drained weight 
• Migration analysis 
• Sufficient vacuum 
• For tomato products, e.g., skin fragments, ergosterol, Alternaria toxins 
• Coconut milk: density, total fat, pH value 
• Nutritional analysis 
• Testing for general marketability 
• Labeling test

Sensory testing

Sensory analyses are essential when testing canned foods in order to evaluate the appearance, smell, taste, and consistency of the product. Sensory analyses help to ensure quality, identify undesirable developments, and check consumer acceptance throughout the entire shelf life. Trained testers assess whether the canned food meets expectations or shows signs of spoilage or quality defects.

We offer flexible delivery options for fast and reliable analysis of your canned food samples. You can conveniently send your samples by parcel service or drop them off in person at one of our laboratories. In addition, a convenient pick-up service is also available in Germany.

• Regulation (EU) 2024/3190 on the use of bisphenol A (BPA) and other bisphenols and bisphenol derivatives that have been harmonized due to specific hazardous properties in certain materials and articles intended to come into contact with food

   

• Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers

   

• Regulation (EC) No. 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims made on foods

   

• Regulation (EC) No. 1333/2008 on food additives

   

• Commission Regulation (EU) No. 2023/915 (Contaminants Regulation)

The following laboratories of the Tentamus Group offer analyses of canned foods:

You may also be interested in:

• Analyses
  Residue analysis
  Microbiological testing
  Molecular biological testing
  Sensory testing
• Product categories
  Meat and sausage products
  Convenience foods
  Frozen meals
  Pet food
• Other services
  Labeling
  Sample logistics