Urgent food warning and advice requested

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Rikkitic

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#265673 4-Feb-2020 19:40

I was just about to start preparing our supper and was rummaging in the cupboard. As I moved a tin of beans, it suddenly exploded with an enormous bang that temporarily deafened me. After a few moments, I went back to see what had happened. Suddenly a second tin exploded with no warning. I may have touched it, but not in any forceful manner. A third tin also went.

We live in an old farmhouse without air-conditioning and it has been very warm in this weather, but nothing that should be causing this kind of effect. The temperature in the cupboard may be around the mid-thirties, but no higher than that. The affected tins are from Countdown. They have the tab-top openers but the explosions blew the entire lids off right around the seam, like they had been neatly done with a tin opener. The brand is a house one, Oak baked beans. Anyone who has these, especially at higher temperatures, should exercise extreme caution with them. They are dangerous! My hearing still hasn't completely returned to normal. The force of the explosion could also easily put someone's eye out, though fortunately there was no other injury in this case.

I inspected (from a safe distance) some unexploded cans and they are bulging noticeably. Explosive danger aside, these can't be safe to eat. That is why I am posting this warning here and also why I am putting it in this forum. Can anyone tell me where and how I should report this further? It needs to get out as soon as possible.

Apart from the danger aspect of the food, there is also a liability one. I can't prove I bought these from Countdown, or when I did, though it wasn't years ago, but that is definitely where I got them. So I would also appreciate advice on how to pursue this matter with them, but the safety aspect is the one that needs immediate attention.

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Batman

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#2412811 5-Feb-2020 08:53

All this shows is that there were bacteria in the cans. Bacteria multiplies and from their metabolic by products gas were produced. When enough gas had been produced can explodes. Some bacteria produce more gas at a faster rate than others.

What kind of bacteria I don't know. Imagine an intruder got into your car and keeps farting.

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#2413471 6-Feb-2020 10:45

Hammerer:

My main concern with this event is that most people in New Zealand are remarkably ignorant about food safety. This is a text-book example of such risky behaviour.

I totally agree that a manufacturing date should be mandatory on all canned food products. That should also be the case for all other manufactured food products. But that is not the primary issue here.

The cans were stored in an unsafe manner and the existence of a printed date on the can would probably have made no difference because of risky behaviours that are common to most of us:

* Ignoring or at least not detecting the visible signs of potential problems with the cans.

Rikkitic:

I inspected (from a safe distance) some unexploded cans and they are bulging noticeably.

Even two year old cans will already show visible signs of aging: dull/tarnished/oxidised metal (including rust), dust, fading labels, failing labels (i.e. they fall off as the adhesives fail). It is also likely that the pressure in the cans had been visible for several months. Dents and other deformation of cans usually reduces the shelf life markedly even if the can has not been pierced.

* Storing the cans at a temperatures outside the safe range.

Rikkitic:

We live in an old farmhouse without air-conditioning and it has been very warm in this weather, but nothing that should be causing this kind of effect. The temperature in the cupboard may be around the mid-thirties, but no higher than that.

Totally untrue that there is "nothing that should causing this kind of effect"

Most of us don't understand the term "room temperature" which means what is comfortable for us - typically means at least 20C and no more than 23-25C.

In general, we are more aware of the probability of food poisoning and death when we have a short period at high risk long period, e.g. handling raw chicken, thawing frozen food, storing cooked rice. We are much more ignorant of issues with long term storage that have the same probability of harming us. So we should not be relying on the fact that some few cans out of many millions will be fine after 10 years. Cans fail in a similar distribution to many other products, probably much like incandescant lightbulbs. Some will virtually last forever.

The traditional practice of ventilating food storage areas has largely ceased. It was mainly used for primary foods (dairy, eggs, meat, fresh fruit and vegetables) rather than secondary foods (products) but it does help prevent temperature extremes in our kitchen cupboards.

The fact that more than one can exploded doesn't make the event more alarming. Coincidental explosions happens because of the shock wave created by earlier explosions and have been known to cause safe canned foods to rupture.

If the can was bulging that's the time bomb declaring itself in black and white. I was taught that from a young age but anyhow, should be common sense from science. Anyway, guys printed date or not, can bulging - don't keep it.