Abstract
A metal container used for food packaging must preserve the food’s edibility characteristics for a long period of time. Lacquered tinplate is suitable for canning food provided that the cans are airtight. This article details a root cause failure analysis that was conducted utilizing a sample of tuna cans taken from an affected batch of one million units. Several examinations were carried out to identify the failure’s root cause: visual examination, SEM fractography, micro-hardness measurement, and microstructural characterization. The cracks are located in the HAZ of the welded zone. As a result of the examinations carried out, the authors were able to identify the cause of the primary failure. The identified fracture mechanism is that of stress corrosion cracking (SCC), due to both the aggressive environment (high water content in the oil) and the low lacquer adhesion caused by superficial welding irregularities.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Gelati, S., Penalba, F., Gomez, X., Ferretti, C., Montanari, A.: Stress corrosion cracking in tinplate destined for legume and pet food packaging. Corros. Eng. 41, 297–303 (2006)
Beese, R.E., Ludwigsen, R.J.: Chemistry of Food Packaging, pp. 1–14. American Chemical Society, Washington D.C. (1974)
Barilli, F., Fragni, R., Gelati, S., Montanari, A.: Study on the adhesion of different types of lacquers used in food packaging. Prog. Org. Coat. 46, 91–96 (2003)
Pournaras, A., Prodromidis, M.I., Katsoulidis, A.P., Badeka, A.V., Georgantelis, D., Kontominas, M.G.: Evaluation of lacquered tinplated cans containing octopus in brine by employing x-ray microanalysis and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. J. Food Eng. 86, 460–464 (2008)
Charbonneau, J.E.: Recent case histories of food product–metal container interactions using scanning electron microscopy–x-ray microanalysis. Scanning 19, 512–518 (2006)
Kontominas, M.G., Prodromidis, M.I., Paleologos, E.K., Badeka, A.V., Georgantelis, D.: Investigation of fish product–metal container interaction using scanning electron microscopy–x-ray microanalysis. Food Chem. 98, 225–230 (2006)
Montanari, A., Pezzani, A., Cassarà, A., Quaranta, A., Lupi, R.: Quality of organic coatings for food cans: evaluation techniques and prospects of improvement. Prog. Org. Coat. 29, 159–165 (1996)
Arcangeli, G., Baldrati, G., Pirazzoli, P.: La trasformazione dei prodotti della pesca: tecnologia, controllo e igiene di lavorazione, pp. 260–261. Stazione Sperimentale per l’Industria delle Conserve Alimentari, Parma (2003); in Italian
ASM Handbook, Corrosion: Fundamentals, Testing, and Protection, ASM International, USA (2003)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Barella, S., Cincera, S., Boniardi, M. et al. Failure Analysis of Tuna Cans. J Fail. Anal. and Preven. 11, 446–451 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11668-011-9464-x
Received:
Revised:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11668-011-9464-x