Divine Aleru is an accomplished biochemist and researcher with a specialized background in environmental toxicology, focusing on the impacts of heavy metals on human health. With deep-rooted expertise in microbiome signatures analysis, Divine seamlessly blends rigorous scientific training with her passion for deciphering the intricate relationships between environmental exposures and the human microbiome. Her career is distinguished by a commitment to advancing integrative health interventions, leveraging cutting-edge microbiome research to illuminate how toxic metals shape biological systems. Driven by curiosity and innovation, Divine is dedicated to translating complex environmental findings into actionable insights that improve individual and public health outcomes. 
Divine Aleru is an accomplished biochemist and researcher with a specialized background in environmental toxicology, focusing on the impacts of heavy metals on human health. With deep-rooted expertise in microbiome signatures analysis, Divine seamlessly blends rigorous scientific training with her passion for deciphering the intricate relationships between environmental exposures and the human microbiome. Her career is distinguished by a commitment to advancing integrative health interventions, leveraging cutting-edge microbiome research to illuminate how toxic metals shape biological systems. Driven by curiosity and innovation, Divine is dedicated to translating complex environmental findings into actionable insights that improve individual and public health outcomes. What was issued?
This peer-reviewed review explains how tin moves from cans into food and what that means for safety, testing, and tin in canned food limits. It compiles surveys, case reports, and small clinical studies, and it links them to practical control steps for can-packed foods and drinks. The paper cites legal levels used in trade and oversight: a Codex limit of 150 mg/kg for beverages, typical limits near 250 mg/kg for solids (200 mg/kg in the UK), and a JECFA provisional tolerable weekly intake of 14 mg/kg body weight. It also maps the main drivers of detinning—low pH, nitrate carryover from crops, time, and warm storage—and shows how unlacquered cans and certain fruit products can absorb the most tin.
Who is affected?
Canners of tomato products, citrus juices, pineapple, white fruits, and some vegetables face the most risk, especially when they use unlacquered tinplate or handle high-nitrate crops. Brand owners, private-label buyers, and importers need strong pack specs and release tests. Retailers and food-service buyers should ask for current results and clear hold-and-release rules. Public health teams watch for clusters of short-term stomach upsets linked to a lot or site. Consumers who drink large volumes of acidic canned beverages in one sitting face the fastest onset of symptoms if a pack runs high. Packaging suppliers and lacquer vendors also share risk and should verify barrier performance on the exact foods and thermal cycles used.
Most important findings
Data across many surveys show most canned foods sit far below legal levels, but unlacquered, acidic products can reach or exceed limits when crops bring in nitrates or when storage runs warm or long. Human studies point to a stomach-irritant effect at high concentrations taken at once. Small volunteer trials reported nausea or diarrhoea near ~700 mg/kg in acidic juices; many incident reports tied large group upsets to ~250–400 mg/kg in corroded, high-nitrate packs, though methods and records were uneven. Long-term risk from inorganic tin looks low because the gut absorbs little and most passes in stool; studies did not show clear cancer or genetic harm. The review notes that many countries set 150 mg/kg (beverages) and 200–250 mg/kg (solids) to curb acute stomach effects rather than chronic disease. These limits align with intake modeling that stays well below the JECFA weekly value even if a share of the diet comes from cans.
Key implications
Food companies should prevent spikes first, then verify. Buy low-nitrate crops and document field inputs; manage acid and sugars in recipes; choose full lacquer on risk foods; and control storage time and temperature. Write specs that cite tin in canned food limits, name the test method, and set hold-and-release rules. Use targeted tin testing on high-risk lines and seasons and add root-cause checks when tin rises (crop nitrate, lacquer damage, hot warehousing). For certification, map tin to HACCP or HARPC: make can integrity and lacquer cure a CCP, trend tin results, and trigger CAPAs before legal limits. Public health teams can focus market checks on acidic products in unlacquered cans and on lots stored hot. Regulators can keep Codex-aligned limits and enforce with import screens on fruit juices and tomatoes from high-nitrate regions while encouraging field and process controls that cut detinning at the source.
Citation
Blunden, S., & Wallace, T. (2003). Tin in canned food: A review and understanding of occurrence and effect. Food and Chemical Toxicology, 41(12), 1651-1662. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0278-6915(03)00217-5
Tin and its compounds, especially organotins, pose significant health risks ranging from neurological effects to reproductive toxicity. The HMTC program's stringent certification standards aim to minimize these risks and protect consumer health.
