Canning food with metal cans

[leeudon]

I work for a small food manufacturer who manufactures farmed cricket snack products.

We plan to sell crickets preserved in salt water brine and I'm currently researching how to preserve them in aluminum cans.

There isn't a great deal of information on the net about preserving insects so I thought I would ask the experts here.

We have already purchased a can seaming machine and some aluminum cans, and we are looking at purchasing an autoclave machine.

I understand canning with metal cans is different to canning with glass jars. With jars you can cook them in a pressure cooker with the lid half open to allow air to escape, and when they cool you can close the lid fully to create a vacuum. With metal cans you don't have this option so is there an alternative option or do I need to purchase a vacuum seaming machine?

Would it work if I was to simply cook the crickets, add them to salted water in a can, seal the can and then cook in a autoclave/pressure cooker? Or do I need to remove the air prior to pressure cooking?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Dib's]

Wow-I have no idea what-so-ever. Maybe Molly can help.

[Molly53]

Who is going to be consuming this product? If you're in the USA, the FDA or your county health department might be a better place to start your research. See if you don't find this information helpful: http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/default.htm

The only reliable information related in processing in steel cans is for fish and meat. This information was based on research done in Alaska. Perhaps you'll find the information in the below links helpful:

http://www.uaf.edu/files/ces/publications-db/catalog/hec/FNH-00125.pdf
http://www.uaf.edu/files/ces/publications-db/catalog/hec/FNH-00227.pdf

You get the prize for the most unusual query we've ever had, leeudon. Welcome to the forum.

[duonyte]

Just curious - wouldn't a snack be something crispy? Canning them in a brine would make them soggy - perhaps suitable as an ingredient to make your own, but it seems a bit counterintuitive for a snack. Mind, I've never had anything like this, so have nothing to go by.

[Zeldaz]

I imagine they would be like boiled peanuts, which are available in cans. There is a considerable difference between home-canned foods and foods commercially canned, you're going to need help from people in the industry. The equipment is just not the same. Wouldn't your employer have that information already?

[leeudon]

Molly53 wrote:
Who is going to be consuming this product? If you're in the USA, the FDA or your county health department might be a better place to start your research.

The product will be sold worldwide. Thanks for the links, I will have a look at them now.

Molly53 wrote:
You get the prize for the most unusual query we've ever had, leeudon. Welcome to the forum.

Yes I always get strange looks when I tell people what foods we make.

duonyte wrote:
Just curious - wouldn't a snack be something crispy? Canning them in a brine would make them soggy - perhaps suitable as an ingredient to make your own, but it seems a bit counterintuitive for a snack. Mind, I've never had anything like this, so have nothing to go by.

This is a new product we're working on, it's not a snack, it is for people to experiment cooking with insects. We do make snack products also which are either dehydrated or fried.

duonyte wrote:
you're going to need help from people in the industry. The equipment is just not the same. Wouldn't your employer have that information already?

We have a professional canning machine and we have the budget to purchase the equipment we need. Unfortunately information is limited where we are. Our factory is located in northern Thailand and I haven't found anywhere yet that can help me with this. Therefore I have decided to look to the internet for help.

[Zurie]

I was about to ask where you live (I guessed someweher in Africa!) and saw you are in Thailand. Now I understand the cricket-as-a-snack!

Maybe a silly question -- but if you want to sell them as a crispy snack, can't you simply dry them with a little curing salt and maybe seasonings, and sell in sealed packets?

I don't see how you can put them in a can in brine ... sounds yucky-soggy.

Anyway, if you find a canning method you'll have to close and seal the metal lids before canning:- after that the boiling water would have to COVER the cans throughout the processing period, otherwise they'll explode.

[duonyte]

Zurie, you missed one of the answers to the questions we have been peppering him with - this is not intended as a snack but as a new product line, canning crickets to be used in other kind of cooking.

[Zeldaz]

leeudon wrote:


I understand canning with metal cans is different to canning with glass jars. With jars you can cook them in a pressure cooker with the lid half open to allow air to escape, and when they cool you can close the lid fully to create a vacuum. With metal cans you don't have this option so is there an alternative option or do I need to purchase a vacuum seaming machine?

Actually, that is not the procedure for preserving in jars, at least not in the U.S.. The rings are hand-tightened, then the jars are processed, creating a vacuum, sterilizing the contents, and melting the sealing compound. It's important to NOT disturb the lids and rings in any way until the processed jars are completely cooled.
Again, I'd seek help from industry experts for a commercial operation; food.com is a website aimed at home cooks, few (if any) of whom have expertise in commercial canning techniques.

[leeudon]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I do understand this is a home cooking forum however I thought there may be someone here with a little background in canning with metal cans.

Thanks anyway.

[Zurie]

duonyte wrote:
Zurie, you missed one of the answers to the questions we have been peppering him with - this is not intended as a snack but as a new product line, canning crickets to be used in other kind of cooking.

Thanks, yes, I did miss that!

Leeudon, I am intrigued by your cricket canning experiment! Maybe you could let us curious ladies know at a later stage how it went, and whether you succeeded?

[leeudon]

I will let you know how I get on.