Whether you are planning your camping trip or having a bonfire in your backyard, cooking food straight out of the cans might be the only option you have in these situations. The real question is whether is it safe to heat canned food in the can.

It can be said for sure that cooking canned food in this way certainly saves cooking time. And having fewer dishes to wash is a dream come true after you spent hours getting a fire started.

Let us delve into the details to determine whether it is safe to heat canned food in the can after all. That’s because there aren’t many options besides this one when you spend your weeks in the wilderness.

Is It Safe to Heat Canned Food in the Can?

Yes, but there are precautions you need to follow before heating food in a can. Canned food manufacturers do not recommend using their cans to heat food as there the elements used to make the cans may contaminate your food.

Though the FDA assures, unless chemicals leeches from the can, heating canned food in the can will not harm your health.

Which Elements Used in the Making of Cans Might Harm Your Health?

When it comes to canned foods such as tuna, stews, and pickles, the container used to store these foods is made of Steel. Beverages such as soda water or canned fruit juices are stored in cans made of aluminum.

And even though you should always steer clear of the aluminum cans while heating food, steel cans are less likely to cause harm.

What both of these cans have in common is how the inner linings of both of these cans are lined with epoxy that has been graded safe for food.

This epoxy liner can seriously harm your health over the years due to the Bisphenol A it contains.  Overconsumption of BPA can interfere with your hormones and negatively affect your brain, especially the developing brains of infants and children.

So, we all have to remain very careful not to consume BPA over a certain limit. And research suggests there are no significant side effects of consuming small amounts of BPA in the long run, so that is one less thing you have to worry about!

How to Make Sure Your Consumption of BPA Stays Under a Limit?

Always make sure that you do not use cans to heat food often and be very careful not to use the same can twice for heating foods.

Do not cook food inside the can for a long time. The more time you take to heat the food, the more the chances of the harmful elements seeping into your food.

Well, the good news is, most canned foods are cooked beforehand and are FDA-approved, except pickles, as the FDA can only approve foods that have been boiled or cooked thoroughly.

So you do not have to worry about bacteria from eating uncooked food. Following these rules should keep your consumption of BPA in check.

What Rules Should You Live by While Heating Canned Food in the Can?

Opening the can before you start making preparations to heat the food is one of the most important things to keep in mind while heating canned foods.

Not doing so will increase the air pressure in the can once you start heating it, and the can might eventually burst from the air pressure. It might even lead to horrible accidents if you are close to the fire.

If you can not open the can for some reason, making three or four big holes in it might also be helpful to release air pressure.

Also, remember not to microwave the cans as this will not heat the food effectively; heating it on an open fire or stove is a better alternative.

You should look for paper labels and remove those if there happens to be any on the can you are using to reheat food. Otherwise, the labeling paper will catch fire and might create a fire hazard.

Conclusion

Even as you try your hardest to carry around microwavable or heat-proof containers so that you can efficiently heat canned food, it is not the most realistic solution in every situation.

But if you really want to avoid chemicals from seeping into your food, finding a reheat able can that is marked safe to heat food in is the best solution to these problems.

Now you get to have the authentic camping you always dreamed of without worrying is it safe to heat canned food in the can!