Micro and Nano Corrosion in Steel Cans Used in the Seafood Industry

Abstract

The use of metal containers for food preservation comes from the early nineteenth century, has been important in the food industry. This type of packaging was developed to improve food preservation, which were stored in glass jars, manufactured for the French army at the time of Napoleon Bonaparte (XVIII century), but were very fragile and difficult to handle in battlefields, so it was decided the produce metal containers (Brody et al, 2008). Peter Durand invented the metallic cans in1810 to improve the packaging of food. In 1903 the English company Cob Preserving, made studies to develop coatings and prevent internal and external corrosion of the cans and maintain the nutritional properties of food (Brody, 2001). Currently, the cans are made from steel sheets treated with electrolytic processes for depositing tin. In addition, a variety of plastic coatings used to protect steel from corrosion and produce the adequate brightness for printing legends on the outside of the metallic cans (Doyle, 2006). This type of metal containers does not affect the taste and smell of the product; the insulator between the food and the steel, is non-toxic and avoid the deterioration of the food. The differences between metal and glass containers, as well as the negative effects that cause damage to the environment and human health are presented in Table 1. The wide use of steel packaging in the food industry, from their initial experimental process, has been very supportive to keep food in good conditions, with advantages over other materials such as glass, ceramics, iron and tin. The mechanical and physicochemical properties of steel help in its use for quick and easy manufacturing process (Brown, 2003). At present, exist a wide variety of foods conserved in steel cans, but in harsh environments, they corrode. Aluminum is used due to its better resistance to corrosion, but is more expensive. With metal packaging, the food reaches to the most remote places of the planet, and its stays for longer times without losing its nutritional properties, established and regulated for health standards by the Mexican Official Standards (NOM). The difference between using metal cans to glass (Table 1) indicate greater advantages for steel cans (Finkenzeller, 2003). In coastal areas, where some food companies operate, using steel cans, three types of deterioration are detected: atmospheric corrosion, filiform corrosion and microbiological corrosion. Even with the implementation of techniques and methods of