Canned Tomato Sauces and Beans: Industrial Processes

The modern industry of canned foods is correlated with a selected portion of commercial products: fruits and vegetable foods, meat and meat products, shellfish and fish. Two of these products, tomato sauces and baked beans, may be described in detail with the aim of highlighting the importance of several processing steps: the packaging (and the role of metal cans) with quality control procedures, and general defects of canned tomato sauces and baked beans, with a general description of traceability needs. Good or excellent microbiological quality has to be assured when speaking of vegetables, water for washing operations and production equipment. Basic controls on metal cans should consider and evaluate the minimum positive features expected for similar rigid containers. Finally, the hygienic production of canned foods has to be performed by means of adequate good manufacturing practices. In this ambit, the importance of traceability has to be considered when speaking of foods and packaging materials.