Contribution to the Study of the Corrosion of Tinplate by Apricots: Influence of Fungicide Residues

Abstract

Abstract Following corrosion problems with apricots in syrup, a product not generally very aggressive to tinplate cans, a large test-pack, formulated by a technical committee of canners, manufacturers of cans and producers of tinplate, was carried out over a period of three years. The test parameters chosen were: the chemical treatment applied to the apricot trees; the type of can (basis steel: tin coating: plain or lacquered); the closing temperature; the method of cooling the cans, and the storage temperature. The corrosion process was estimated by a systematic examination of cans of each series, and the recording of swells as a function of time. A number of analyses were also made on the contents of the cans.This test-pack has clearly shown the role played by the residues of fungicidal treatments by sulphur-containing products as accelerators of corrosion. The temperature of filling was shown to be important; simple precautions at the time of filling greatly increased the shelf life of the product.