Canned Foods and Canneries
Preserving food by bottling and heating using air tight glass containers was invented by Franscois Appert, a Parisian confectioner, in 1810. He developed the idea in response to a reward offered by the French government who were looking at ways to feed the army in the field. Appert's discovery was taken up in England by John Hall, founder of the famous Dartford Iron Works, and his associate Bryan Donkin in 1811. They started using glass bottles but went onto develop metal canisters made of tinned iron to store the food. The world's first `canned' food was made in their new factory set up in Bermondsey, London.
Some sources cite an Englishman by the name of Peter Durand as the brains behind the metal containers.
Tinned foods appeared in the shops by 1820 but they were very expensive and were mainly used as emergency supplies by the military and people on expeditions. Tins recovered from an 1824 expedition to the Arctic were opened in the 1930s and the food inside was found to be still in good condition after 87 years.
In 19th century Britain tin cans remained a small scale business, people bought them empty and filled them at home with food to be preserved (a lot of shops used to can their own produce). In America the extingencies of the American Civil War forced development of industrial canneries and the American Can Company soon became the worlds largest supplier of empty tins.
By the early 20th century people were making up soups and stews and selling these in cans, in the UK Simpson Ready Foods introduced 'Goblin' canned puddings in the 1930's.
Canned beer appeared in the USA in about 1935.
Cans did not have it all their own way however, the re-usable glass bottle, although inconvenient for the consumer, was cheaper for the supplier and it was easier to open than the traditional three piece can (consisting of tubular body, top and bottom).
In 1963 the pop-tab opener appeared (the first successful design was developed by the American giant Continental Can). This provoked a massive increase in the use of tins for beverages such as beer and soft drinks, ushering in what the industry called the 'era of the six pack'. This in turn pushed the development of the non-returnable one-way glass bottle, which uses much thinner glass and so is cheaper to produce.
Research continued and in the 1970's the Aluminium two-piece can, made from a one piece formed body and base with a separate lid came into play. This was proved popular with the beverage industry and because of the cost of the aluminium recycling is worthwhile, a recycled can uses up 89 percent less energy in manufacture than a new one.
Modelling a Cannery
The cannery is usually located close to where the food is produced as it must be fresh. The food is washed and inspected and sorted for size and quality. It is then peeled, shelled, boned, blended or whatever and then cooked. As some foods shrink with cooking they are cooked before they are put into the cans, other foods are heated in the tin.
The tins should be well filled but the filling machine sucks any remaining air out of the tin and seals the lid. The sealed tins are then placed in boiling water or heated with steam to kill any bacteria inside the can and when cool the labels are added. The cans of corned beef from Argentina which caused outbreaks of food poisoning in the early 1960's were found to have small pin holes in the seals, they were cooled by placing them in nets and dipping them in the river Plate, from where bacteria entered.
From a model railway perspective there is a lot of scope for unusual traffic, including refrigerated vans and containers, fruit vans, sheeted over cattle wagons and slat sided milk vans to bring in the foods to be processed. You could also have the occasional milk tank (either a six wheeler tank wagon or a road trailer on its transporter wagon). Fish canning firms would be located close to the docks but these might also be served by dock company owned vans and open wagons (providing these do not have to run onto the main lines to get there). Some outgoing goods might be shipped in railway owned containers (these ventured as far afield as the near Continent, transported in conventional cargo ships).
The cannery would be a large building and it would feature a substantial water tank, probably mounted on the roof. Facilities for loading the outgoing boxes of filled tins need only be a raised loading bank, facilities for rail delivered raw materials would depend on the foods being tinned but a raised loading bank should serve.
Food Canning Companies
Baxters is an international food company, based in Fochabers, Scotland. The firm began as a grocers shop (opened in 1868). They began selling pickles and preserves in the early 20th century, they opened a factory in 1916 and pioneered the UK canned food industry in the period between the two world wars.
Today Baxters is best known for canned soups, made to unique recipes, such as Royal Game. In recent years they have bought up other food companies, including Garner’s Foods Ltd and CCL Foods plc.
The company's main manufacturing site is located at Fochabers, Moray, Scotland, where it produces canned soups, jars of beetroot, jams and preserves. There is also a factory in Colchester.
The Campbell Soup Company , originally known as the Joseph Campbell Preserve Company, was founded in America in 1869. The major turning point came in 1897 when a Dr John T Dorrance, nephew to the general manager, was employed and the following year he invented condensed soup. By eliminating the water in canned soup, he lowered the costs of packaging, shipping and storage – making it possible to offer high quality products at value for money prices. The condensed format also added versatility – allowing the consumer to customise the soup by diluting to taste. A year later the world-famous red and white labeling was introduced. Campbell Soup Company founded its UK business in 1933, marketing its well-known range of condensed soups. In 1959 a new plant was opened in King’s Lynn, Norfolk to produce condensed soups for the UK. In the past ten years, the company has grown rapidly through acquiring some of Britain’s favourite food brands. These include Fray Bentos in 1993, Homepride in 1995 and Batchelors and Oxo purchased from Unilever in 2001, which resulted in the business doubling in size.
The Heinz company started selling grated horse radish in America in 1869, Mr Heinz decided that advertising 57 Varieties was a good ploy, at the time he didn't have 57, these days they have over 5000 products but have retained the slogan. Heinz Beans were first sold in the UK by the upmarket Fortnum & Mason store in London in 1886, at which time they were considered exotic and sold at a premium price. Fortnum & Mason still continues the tradition of selling Heinz Beans among its more expensive wares.
Heinz foods for sale to grocers nation wide arrived in 1896, they opened their first UK factory in Peckham, south London in 1905, followed by a second factory at Harlesden, north-west London in 1919. The giant Heinz canned food factory at Kitt Green near Wigan opened in 1959. This single plant makes more than 1 billion cans a year and 1.5 million cans of Heinz Beanz every day. It is the largest food processing plant in Europe and the largest of Heinz's factories around the world however the factory has never been rail connected. Heinz also has an infant feeding factory in Kendal, Cumbria.
Lockwoods Foods operated canneries producing tinned fruit and vegetables with factories at Long Sutton and Forfar, both canning fruit and vegetables and also a carbonated drinks line at Long Sutton. In 1981 Lockwoods Foods ran into difficulties and was bought out by Hillsdown Holdings, now known as Premier Foods.
Pickering Foods was a fruit and vegetable canning company which at some point was taken over by Heinz and in 1990 it was sold on to Premier Foods.
Stratford upon Avon Canners operated a canning and pickles business, this was bought out by Premier Foods in 2001.
Sutherlands had a 'Meat Canning Division'
British Fish Canners
CWS Lowestoft produced the CWS Own Label Canned Fruit & Vegetables range, at some point the company was bought out and became F E Barber (but retained the CWS contract) and in 1994 the company was bought out by Premier Foods.
John Morrell & Co Ltd was a canner of fruit and vegetables and pet food, with a factory at Bardney, Lincs canning fruit/vegetables and pet food. In 1986 Premier Foods bought out the company and the factory changed to Pet Food only.
Premier Foods started as Hillsdown Holdings in 1975. In 1981 it acquired Lockwood Foods, a canned foods business. In 1986, it bought various food businesses from Beechams and in 1990 it acquired Premier Brands which included Typhoo and Cadbury's drinks. The entire company was then bought by the private equity company Hicks, Muse, Tate and Furst in 1999. In 1991 the name changed to HL Foods Ltd. In 2002, it bought Nestlé's ambient foods business and in 2003 they purchased Ambrosia and Brown & Polson from Unilever Bestfoods UK Ltd. Premier Foods went public in 2004 when it was listed on the London Stock Exchange. In 2005 they bought out the desserts business of Kraft Foods (including Bird's custard and Angel Delight). In 2005 they bought out the two main meat-alternative companies, , Marlow Foods the makers of Quorn, and Cauldron. In 2005 they sold off Typhoo Tea to India's Apeejay Surrendra Group and launched their own brand of baked beans (using the Branston brand). In 2006, Premier Foods acquired the UK and Ireland businesses of Campbell's, which by this time owned Oxo, Batchelors, Homepride and Fray Bentos. They didn't buy the Campbels brand name and rebranded the soup range as Batchelors Condensed Soup and the meatballs as Fray Bentos (although they then closed down the Fray Bentos pie works in King's Lynn). In 2007 they took over their main rival, Rank Hovis McDougal and announced it was to close the RHM sites in Bristol, Droylsden (makers of Robertson's Golden Shred since 1890 and Sharwood's brands), Middlewich (makers of Bisto and Salts), Wythenshawe (makers of Sharwood's Pappadoms and Paxo), Ledbury (makers of specialist jams) and Reading (Foodservices). This was part of their broad strategy of relocating all their business in the South of the country.
Premier foods brands now include Frank Cooper's jams, Robertson's Jams, Heartley's jams, Rose's marmalades (under licence), Haywards pickles, Rowat's pickles, Sharwood's Asian sauces, Branston pickles, beans and savoury foods, Crosse and Blackwell savoury foods, Sarson's vinegar, Saxa salt, Cerebos salt, and Supreme salt. They also own most bread and cake brands in the UK.
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