• Canned food dates back to the Napoleonic Wars. In 1809, Frenchman Nicholas Appert, a chef, developed a method of preserving food in sealed containers, for which he won a prize, and Philippe de Girard, an inventor also from France soon used this idea with tin cans. After the patent was sold by Englishman Peter Durand to Bryan Donkin and John Hall, the idea was further refined and the two commenced mass production of canned food, in 1813.
  • In 1955, while testing the A-bomb in the Nevada desert, researchers were interested to see if canned food was safe to eat after a nuclear explosion – and to everyone’s surprise, it was!
  • Around 5.9 billion aluminium drinks cans are recycled in the UK every year. That’s enough to circle the world almost 18 times if laid end to end.
  • In 1985, astronauts on the Space Shuttle Challenger enjoyed cans of Coca-Cola in space, proving just how well cans travel.
  • More than 1,500 food types are now routinely packed into metal cans, enabling people around the world to eat high quality out-of-season food all year round.
  • According to research conducted at the University of Illinois, canned fruit and vegetables are nutritionally similar to (and in some cases superior to) fresh or frozen alternatives.
  • In August 2017 conservationists discovered a tinned cake that Robert Scott had taken with him on the ill fated 1910 British Antarctic Expedition – and while the tin had gone rusty the cake still looked and smelt edible.
  • Close to 70% of all aluminium cans are recycled globally – making it the most recycled drinks container on the planet.
  • The canning process makes some nutrients easier to absorb by our bodies.
  • The first tin-opener was invented by the English surgical instrument maker Robert Yates in 1855.
  • Recycling one aluminium can saves enough energy to run a television for three hours.
  • Canning green beans has nearly 39% less global warming effects compared to freezing!

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