Tin Can Manufacturers & Suppliers

Tin can construction, lacquers, and food safety

Tin cans (tinplate cans or steel cans) are the standard packaging format for commercially sterilised ambient shelf-stable foods — including vegetables, fruits, fish, meat, soups, pet food, coffee, tea, and confectionery. Three-piece cans consist of a cylindrical body (formed from a flat tinplate blank, seam-welded along one side), a bottom end, and a top end — each produced separately and seamed together. Three-piece can construction is standard for food cans in most size ranges. Two-piece cans (drawn and ironed, or DRD — drawn and re-drawn) are formed from a single flat disc without a side seam — used for shallow-profile cans such as fish tins and some specialty food cans. Interior lacquering is critical for food cans: the lacquer prevents metal-to-food interaction and corrosion. The main lacquer types are: BPA-based epoxy lacquers (the most widely used, providing excellent adhesion and flexibility — but subject to increasing regulatory scrutiny over BPA migration, particularly in some EU member states and the State of California); BPA-free alternatives (acrylic and polyester-based lacquers, and oleoresin (natural resin) lacquers for some traditional applications such as sardine cans). When sourcing tin cans for EU food markets, confirm BPA-free lacquer status with the supplier and request migration test data. Flat tin cans (also called gift tins or decorative tins) — for confectionery, biscuits, tea, and gift packaging — are produced by a different process (drawing from tinplate sheet) and are specified by top opening diameter, can height, and lid type.