I understand that improper food handling piror to the canning process can allow bacteria to thrive once sealed, and that if a food container is punctured then of course any nasties can seep in due to there no longer being a barrier – but why does a deep dent also seem to carry as much risk as the can actually being punctured? Never understood this.
In: Biology
Ah, so short of definitive puncture marks even a deep enough dent could cause sort of microfractures? I guess even if most of the malformed area has just gotten thinner and bordering on fracture – it only takes a miniscule actual break in the barrier for bacteria to enter what was a sterile environment. Seems simple enough but I just couldn’t picture the causality lol – thank you all for your comments helping me think of it in other ways!
I could be wrong here but I believe it has to do with allowing re-oxygenation to reintroduce disease to a formerly sterile environment.
Once a can is sealed, it’s heated to kill off any dangerous bacteria and do some other stuff. A deep dent can open the can back up to the rest of the environment and allow those pathogens back in.
Latest Answers