A Brief look into the history of canned food
Nicolas Appert was born Nov 17th, 1794 in Champagne France, and is known as the “Father of Canning” due to his invention in the early 1800s. His original technique for food preservation involved wine bottles, because of their accessibility in Champagne, France. The top of the bottle was sealed with a cork and a layer of wax. His invention was put to the test in 1803 by the French Navy.
It wasn’t until 1904 that the Max Ams Machine Company patented the modern double seam method of canning that we see today. Today, modern machines allow factories to seal over 2,000 cans per minute.
"Of COurse I Can!"
The following advertisement was distributed in 1944 during World War II to remind citizens to be mindful of their food consumption.
It was important that there were enough supplies to send to the troops, so rations were implemented among citizens. Whatever was leftover was preserved through canning.
The advertisement was illustrated by Dick Williams, a highly influential artist during this time. In addition to illustrating posters like this for the US Government, he also worked with major brands like Coca-Cola.
Image Source: War Food Administration. 1944. “Of Course I Can! I’m patriotic as can be – And ration points won’t worry me!.” Special Collections, USDA National Agricultural Library. Accessed February 13, 2020, http://www.nal.usda.gov/exhibits/speccoll/items/show/245.
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