The 109-year-old meal that proved canning defies the clock

Food & Drink · Published 30 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In 1865, a steamboat sank in the Missouri River, taking its cargo of canned food to the bottom. Over a century later, scientists tested those same tins. The results revealed a staggering reality about the physics of preservation that changed how we feed armies and cities.

The history of canning is rooted in military necessity. To combat food rotting, which frequently confined military operations to autumn and summer, the French state provided a 12,000-franc reward for a solution during the Napoleonic Wars. Nicolas Appert, who worked as a brewer and confectioner in France, achieved success in 1809 by putting cooked items into glass jars with seals. He won the prize in 1810, even though the underlying science—the role of microbes in spoilage—would not be understood by Louis Pasteur for another 50 years.

While the French Army initially struggled to scale Appert's method due to slow processing and transport, the technology eventually crossed the Atlantic. New York City saw the creation of the initial American canning plant in 1812 by Robert Ayars, who employed tin-plated wrought-iron cans to store meats and oysters. Throughout the 19th century, large-scale wars acted as catalysts for industrial growth, forcing companies to manufacture non-perishable food in bulk for working-class soldiers, who then became a primary consumer base during peacetime.

By the Victorian era, canning became a staple of urban life in Britain as city-dwellers sought cheap, varied food that didn't require daily shopping. This era saw intense competition between brands like Nestlé and Heinz, who used decorated labels and lower prices to capture the market. Beyond convenience, modern science suggests canning offers unique nutritional perks; a 1997 study found that the heating process can make dietary fiber more soluble and increase the available lycopene content in tomatoes compared to fresh versions.

The extreme durability of this method is perhaps best illustrated by the 1974 testing of the Bertrand wreck. Samples of food from the 1865 shipwreck were found to have no trace of microbial growth. While the vitamins and smell had deteriorated over 109 years, the food was still determined to be safe to eat. Today, while typical shelf lives are one to five years, specific conditions can extend this significantly, with freeze-dried canned lentils potentially lasting 30 years.

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