By Jack W Updated ：July 1 ,2022
Tin metal cans are famous in the market and are almost used in every sector of life, from food to medicine to beverages. But how famous are tinplate cans? The answer to this question is simple.
Whenever you see a metal can in the market or in your home, it will be made of one of the two materials: Aluminium or Tinplate. The Tinplate boxes industry is estimated to be worth around $134,650 million worldwide.
In this article, we will talk about what tinplate boxes are, what kind of food you can store in them, how safe they are, and much more. So,
Let us start right away.
Checklist
✓ What are Tin Boxes?
✓ Why are Tin Cans used for Storing Food?
✓ Can You Store Open Tin Cans Food back in the Fridge?
✓ Is It Safe to Cook Food in a Tin can?
✓ What Other Things can be Stored in Tin Boxes?
1) What are Tin Boxes?
“Tin Boxes are simply containers made by coating Steel with a thin layer of Tin on both sides.”
Now, You must be wondering,
- Why use we need tin coating on steel? Why not use steel only? We use tin because it does not rust or react with food, while steel is made of iron, so it can rust easily and damage the things in it.
Why is steel used? Can boxes be made out of tin only? Well, tin is a very rare and costly metal, and if only a thin layer of tin can do the work, there is no need to make an expensive pure Tin box. Steel is used as a base layer to lower the price
What kind of Food can be Stored in Tin?
Steel-based Tinplated boxes are excellent storage containers, most of them come with hinged & removable lids, and they can be used to store any kinds of food, the only limitation is your imagination.
The most common type of food which is stored in Tin boxes & cans is
✓ Cakes
✓ Spices
✓ Sweets
✓ Cereals
✓ Biscuits
✓ Cookies
✓ Tobacco
✓ Tea
✓ Popcorn
✓ Chocolates
✓ Coffee Beans
✓ Breath Mints
✓ Stewed Fruits
✓ Confectionery Products
✓ Dry Goods ( like Rice, Pasta, etc. )
✓ Christmas Holiday Treats ( like candies, etc. )
✓ Lunch items ( Sandwiches, Bread, Soups, Chicken, Pickles, etc. )
✓ Much more…
2) Why are Tin Cans used for Storing Food?
There are two types of metal cans that are used for food storage:Tin & Aluminium. The reasons why they are used :
- Resist Corrosion
- Economically affordable
- Preserve the flavor for months to years.
- Provide protection against contamination.
- Do not get affected much by water, air, & light.
- Can store food for longer terms without reacting with it, even acidic ones.
- Stronger than other materials like Plastic, glass, etc.
- And so on.
But, Aren’t Tin & Aluminium Toxic Metals?
Yes, Tin & aluminum are both toxic metals in their pure forms, but they can be made 99% safe to store food for humans by.
- Mixing with other metals, copper, zinc, iron, etc.,
- Doing a resin-based coating on the inside to ensure 99% no-leaching.
It is important to note here that both of these Metals are Passed by FDA for food storage, and they fulfill all the International level Food Safety Storage Standards of all nations.
3) Can You Store Open Tin Cans Food back in the Fridge?
Yes and No.
When I say yes, it means you can store leftover food from the tin cans back in the fridge. But no, you can not keep it within the tin can. That’s because;
When a tin can is opened and exposed to air, food, especially acidic ones like tomatoes, fruit juices, etc., reacts with tin, and toxic tin salts and other harmful by-products are released into food. So, if you want to store open canned food;
- First, drain the food into other lid containers, preferably a glass one.
- Then put it in the freeze for freezing.
But there is an exception here; if on the container there is a mention of “Reusable Lids,” then you can store the food in the tin can even after it is opened. You can see this on tin cans having fatty, sugary, or less acidic food like jams, peanut butter, and so on.
4) Is It Safe to Cook Food in a Tin can?
“No, it is not safe to cook the food within a Tin can.”
Most of us have seen cowboys in movies opening their bean cans with a knife cooking them over a fire, & eat right from the can but be aware it can be fatal.
Yes, you can heat food in a tin can, but always open the can first; otherwise, besides the release of toxic metals into food, the high pressure in a closed tin may cause it to explode, and flying shreds of metal will harm you.
If you cook food in a tin can, toxic elements like tin salts, BPA, etc., may leach into your food, which may cause seizures, headache, diarrhea, dizziness, vision problems, nausea, etc.
5) What Other Things can be Stored in Tin Boxes?
Tin is a very sturdy and safe metal. Besides food, What is a tin box used for? tin box is used as a container to store a lot of things like, Wine ,Buckets,cosmetics ,gift boxes,Trash cans ,pencil Cases ,watch boxes,Perfumes bottles ,pepper&salt tins,Christmas candles ,medical items like first aid kit ,Any other item like tools, screws, threads, needles, precious objects
- Wine
- Buckets
- Cosmetics
- Gift Boxes
- Trash Cans
- Pencil Cases
- Watch Boxes
- Perfumes Bottles
- Pepper & Salt tins
- Christmas Candles
- Medical Items like first aid kit items
- Any other item like tools, screws, threads, needles, precious objects, and so on.
- Much more…
What’s Next
If you are looking for Tin cans supplier, then you come to the right place. We, Hottinbox, are one of the best manufacturers of Tin products ,we make around 5,000,000 pieces of tins monthly with state-of-the-art, fully automated 12 production lines.
As we are based in China, where labor costs are 3 ~ 5 times less than America, Europe & other first-world countries, it will help you earn more profits because it will lower production costs. We also offer free third-party Inspection so that you can be 100% worry-free about quality.
“Just drop us a message and get a free quote; there is no harm in talking; it may save you Thousand of dollars!”
