I want to store canned vegetables but what is wrong w/them?

misterno

I saw canned chickpeas for 58 cents in walmart the other day and I wanted to store like 100s of them. Just as I was reaching to the shelf, I thought let me ask this to PO forum. I think they add artificial preservatives and additives to the cans just to lengthen their expiration date.

On the other hand, I am reading posts in this forum from folks who store these cans in bulks and I wonder if they know about this preservatives and other possible additives in the cans.

Anyone care to elaborate?

allenwrench · Intermediate Crude Joined: Apr 23, 2008 Posts: 843

Cans are OK, watch salt and the downfall is no live enzymes in canned foods. Get live food when you can. Cans are last resort.

misterno

what do you mean by live enzymes?

And how about preservatives? Chemicals?

Ludi

darwinsdog · Heavy Crude Joined: Jun 27, 2008 Posts: 170

Metal cans are coated with a thin layer of (petroleum derived) plastic. This coating leaches phthalates into the food. These compounds have estrogenic effects. Leaching is worse with acidic vegetables such as canned tomatos, but is a concern with all canned goods. The longer the cans are stored the more leaching. Whether or not this is a significant health concern is an open question. It may well be. As usual, more research is needed.

Cog · Heavy Crude Joined: May 17, 2008 Posts: 139

There is a lot of hype about dead enzymes and the danger of canned food. None of it backed by peer-reviewed research.

Make it a part of your storage plan.

darwinsdog · Heavy Crude Joined: Jun 27, 2008 Posts: 170

Oh yeah?

Davis BJ, Maronpot RR, Heindel JJ. Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate suppresses estradiol and ovulation in cycling rats. Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology 1994;128:216-23.

Heindel JJ, Gulati DK, et al. Reproductive toxicity of three phthalic acid esters in a continuous breeding protocol. Fundamentals of Applied Toxicology 1989;12:508-18.

Colon I. Caro D, et al. Identification of phthalate esters in the serum of young Puerto Rican girls with premature breast development. Environmental Health Perspectives 2000;108(9):895-900.

Fredricsson B, Moller L, et al. Human sperm motility is affected by plasticizers and diesel particle extracts. Pharmacology & Toxicology 1993;72(2):128-33.

Gray LE, Ostby J, et al. Perinatal exposure to the phthalates DEHP, BBP, and DINP, but not DEP, DMP, or DOTP, alters sexual differentiation of the male rat. Toxicological Sciences 2000;58(2):350-65.

Ohlson CG, Hardell L. Testicular cancer and occupational exposures with a focus on xenoestrogens in polyvinyl chloride plastics. Chemosphere 2000; 40(9-11):1277-82.

Lamb JC, Chapin RE, et al. Reproductive effects of four phthalic acid esters in the mouse. Toxicology & Applied Pharmacology 1987;88(2):255-69.

WyoDutch

When you're really hungry... canned vegetables will seem like filet mignon... You won't give a crap about sperm count or what is or what ain't in the can.
_________________
Be yourself... Everyone else is already taken.

Cog · Heavy Crude Joined: May 17, 2008 Posts: 139

@Darwinsdog

What you have failed to show is that BPA is dangerous to humans in the concentrations that humans are exposed to. You can kill a rat by exposure to toxic levels of darn near any chemical. See below for some real testing of that plastic liner in tin cans that you are so worried about. I wonder why you didn't find it on the internet like I did in about 5 minutes of looking.

Regarding enzymes

They are proteins. They catalyze chemical reactions. They are not alive or dead in any sense of the word.

Now, if you want to make the claim that there are benefits from eating fresh fruit and vegetables then I have no argument. The canning process does reduced the vitamin C content. But to say canned food is dangerous requires proof.

From the University of Illinois
http://nutrican.fshn.uiuc.edu/

http://nutrican.fshn.uiuc.edu/findings.html

alokin · Intermediate Crude Joined: Aug 24, 2007 Posts: 791

First of all I would neither buy or store canned chickpeas - they taste yuck! Why do you not buy the dried ones? They are lot cheaper, yummy, last for ages and you simply eat them and replace what you have eaten. They take much less storage space. I only store what we're eating normally.

I would not store any vegetables at all. First you can make some days / week without. Second garden cress spinach mustard ... grows n less than a month, you can even have a box of greens on a balcony (however it will be barely more than survival) , you can gather wild stuff. As vegetables are relatively easy to grow and you don't need lots of space it is likely that there will a supply.

Gothor · Tar Sands Joined: Apr 14, 2008 Posts: 89

mystiek

Speaking of stocking up on canned goods-I read on another site that you should dip the ends of the cans in parafin for longer preservation. Anybody here do that? I have been looking for some parafin locally and not having alot of luck.

Cog · Heavy Crude Joined: May 17, 2008 Posts: 139

Unless your cans are subject to water condensing on them, leading to rust, dipping them in paraffin or wax is a waste of time. The contents are as sealed as they are going to get. The paraffin won't extend the usable shelf-life of the food inside.

If you are rotating these through the regular food that you eat(store what you eat) you shouldn't have any problems with rust either.

mystiek

It was the rust issue they were addressing. I haven't had can goods potentially laying around for a long time until now. Our unfinished basement area stays very dry and we have the cans on shelves and/or cabinets. I don't have alot of experience with the "rust factor" and canned goods.

oowolf

The only food worth canning is meat. Canned vegetables and even legumes is a waste of precious energy--because of the high water content. Why bother canning water? Look at the nutritional content of a can of beans--350 or so calories?? You don't need vegetables to survive--you need calories. Store calories in the most dense form--dried food. (only the 150th time I've said this)