{"id":61351,"date":"2025-06-04T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-04T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foodrevolution.org\/?p=61351"},"modified":"2026-02-25T07:59:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T15:59:24","slug":"are-canned-foods-healthy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foodrevolution.org\/blog\/are-canned-foods-healthy\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Canned Foods Healthy? Examining Their Pros and Cons"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of my favorite fun facts is that it took over 40 years after the invention of the tin can<\/a> for someone to come up with the can opener. A French chef, Nicolas Appert, discovered how to preserve food in airtight containers; first glass, then tin-lined iron. These cans turned out to solve the problem of how to feed Napoleon\u2019s troops as they marched across Europe and his sailors as they cruised the Caribbean<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The problem was that there was no easy way to get the food out. So French soldiers ended up stabbing the cans with knives and bayonets (and sometimes shooting them with rifles) to access their dinner. Not very safe \u2014 or hygienic.<\/p>\n

These days, with the advent of manual and electric can openers and pop-top lids, canned food often beats fresh when it comes to ease, convenience, and sometimes even food safety<\/a>. But what about nutrition? Are canned foods good or bad for you? How do you best store them? And what should you look for to ensure you get the healthiest canned food items?<\/p>\n

What Are Canned Foods?<\/b><\/h3>\n
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Any food sterilized and preserved by heat treatment in hermetically sealed (airtight) containers, and thus made shelf-stable, is canned food<\/a>. Just as the processing of French military rations made them last longer, modern canning practices<\/a> preserve otherwise perishable foods.<\/p>\n

This allows them to be shipped over long distances without wilting or spoiling and makes them shelf-stable for months, if not years or even decades.<\/p>\n

Some canned foods are ultra-processed (think Spam and SpaghettiOs). But other canned foods, such as tomatoes and beans, are considered minimally processed<\/a> foods.<\/p>\n

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization\u2019s NOVA classification system lumps unprocessed and minimally processed foods together, defining the category<\/a> as \u201cedible parts of plants or animals that have been taken straight from nature or that have been minimally modified\/preserved.\u201d These foods retain most of their original nutritional value and are often preserved using simple methods like water, brine, or natural juices.<\/p>\n

So canned foods can range from highly processed convenience products to wholesome, minimally altered staple foods. Understanding this range helps clarify that “canned food” doesn\u2019t automatically equate to unhealthy.<\/p>\n

Are Canned Foods Good for You?<\/b><\/h4>\n

Let\u2019s start with the other benefits of canned food before exploring whether it offers any nutritional advantages.<\/p>\n

Canned food is convenient. Much of it is ready-to-prepare (or even ready-to-eat, if you picture people eating beans or canned chili by a campfire).<\/p>\n

Food that\u2019s been canned lasts a really long time. Many canned products have a shelf life of one to five years, which helps minimize food waste.<\/p>\n

And canned food is cost-effective, too. The fact that it doesn\u2019t need to be transported or stored in a fridge or freezer translates into real savings for the consumer.<\/p>\n

When seasonal produce isn\u2019t available, canned food can offer year-round variety to your diet. This can fill food and nutrient gaps in regions where growing a wide variety of foods is difficult.<\/p>\n

Now, let\u2019s talk about canned food nutrition. On the positive side, fruits and vegetables are often picked at peak ripeness and canned<\/a> shortly after harvesting. And the modern canning process leaves many nutrients, including minerals, fat-soluble vitamins, protein, fat, and carbohydrates relatively unchanged. What\u2019s more, the heating process may increase the bioavailability of some antioxidants, such as lycopene<\/a> in tomatoes.<\/p>\n

This means that canned foods can provide nutritious options for a balanced diet. A 2007 study<\/a> compared frozen, fresh, and canned foods and found that all three offered comparable nutritional benefits. Some nutrients, like carotenoids, were actually higher in canned foods than their fresh counterparts.<\/p>\n

A 2015 study<\/a> also found that people who ate a lot of canned foods got more of 17 essential nutrients, including potassium, calcium, and fiber, than infrequent consumers of canned foods.<\/p>\n

Canned Foods\u2019 Bad Side<\/b><\/h4>\n
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Canned foods aren\u2019t without their negatives and cautions, however.<\/p>\n

Many foods degrade in flavor and texture when they\u2019re canned. I know many people who, to this day, hate peas, green beans, and spinach because their first exposure to these wonderful veggies was from a can.<\/p>\n

And while many nutrients remain, water-soluble vitamins may be lost<\/a> due to the high heat required to kill pathogens during the canning process. That means you may get fewer of these vitamins, including the all-important C and B vitamins.<\/p>\n

Plus, to restate the obvious, not all canned foods are healthy. Some are obviously ultra-processed. Exhibit A: May I present Cheeseburger in a Can<\/a>?<\/p>\n

But even healthy-sounding items, like baked beans, may be swimming in a puddle of added sugar, salt, and preservatives.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re canning your own food, there\u2019s also the risk of mold growth or bacterial contamination.<\/strong> Make sure to follow home canning guidelines<\/a> to avoid foodborne illness.<\/p>\n

And while commercially canned foods are highly unlikely to give you botulism or salmonella, there are some real concerns about packaging safety. The BPA linings<\/a> of traditional cans, exposure to aluminum<\/a>, and potential leaching of other chemical contaminants<\/a> used in can linings have been linked to health problems.<\/p>\n

BPA and Canned Foods<\/b><\/h4>\n

When people talk about canned foods, BPA is one of the top concerns. Modern aluminum cans<\/a> typically have a lining to prevent corrosion, changes in taste, and bacterial contamination. For decades, one of the most common can linings contained a plastic chemical called BPA (short for bisphenol A).<\/p>\n

The CDC\u2019s 2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey revealed<\/a> that over 90% of US consumers had detectable BPA in their urine.<\/strong> This finding sparked a flurry of research into whether this stuff was harming us.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what we\u2019ve learned: BPA that leaches into foods and drinks from BPA-lined cans is an endocrine disruptor<\/a> and may even contribute to cancer development<\/a><\/strong>. BPA exposure may also be linked to behavioral problems in children. Furthermore, some research points to a potential connection between BPA and type 2 diabetes and even heart disease<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As a result, many canned food manufacturers say they have gradually phased out BPA linings. A trade group for the canned food industry claims that most cans do not contain BPA anymore<\/a>. But recent studies have concluded that it\u2019s still in use<\/a> and exposes people to harmful health effects. As a result, the European Commission recently banned BPA<\/a> in food-contact packaging.<\/p>\n

Although many BPA-free alternatives are now in use, the long-term safety of alternative can-lining materials<\/a> \u2014 including acrylic, polyester, PVC (polyvinyl chloride), and oleoresins \u2014 is still being studied. Some researchers suggest<\/a> that some of these alternatives could also leach endocrine-disrupting chemicals into food.<\/p>\n

One promising replacement for BPA, oleoresinous enamel<\/a>, is a mixture of oil and resin extracted from plants such as pine or balsam fir. It could be the safest option (although more study is needed). Unfortunately, it doesn\u2019t work for highly acidic foods like tomatoes.<\/p>\n

Tips for Safer and Healthier Canned Foods<\/b><\/h4>\n
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To help you choose the best canned foods for your health, here are some tips from the Environmental Working Group<\/a> on buying canned food:<\/p>\n