# Dented Cans
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dented-cans/565125
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [December 22, 2010, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dented-cans/565125 "2010-12-22T21:45:38Z")
**Posts on this page:** 14
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Rattlehead02](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rattlehead02)
#### Post date: [December 22, 2010, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dented-cans/565125/1 "2010-12-22T21:45:38Z")
So, I just got some soup from Amazon. I got the sirloin chunky soup, chunky firehouse chili and chunky clam chowder. 12 can of each.
Anyway, 1 can in each case was dented, quite visibly too. Should I pitch them? Eat them ASAP? if they’re trash now it’s no big deal, but I’d hate to throw them away without needing to.
I know, I know, you’re not my doctor and this is not legally binding advice.
What would you do, eat em or pitch em?
Thanks,
Jeff
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### Author:  [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)
#### Post date: [December 22, 2010, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dented-cans/565125/2 "2010-12-22T21:49:24Z")
IIRC you run the risk of breaking the white liner that’s inside the can which exposes the food to the metal. I think you also run the risk of having small fractures in the can allowing air to get in.
I think most people still throw caution to the wind and buy’em anyways.
Personally, I wouldn’t buy them that way and if it happened at my house I’d probably use it as a good excuse to toss something that I really didn’t want that much to begin with.
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### Author:  [@Ann\_Onimous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Onimous)
#### Post date: [December 22, 2010, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dented-cans/565125/3 "2010-12-22T22:03:47Z")
I’d pitch them. I hear calls often from nursing homes who have received dented cans of enteral feeding supplies. We have to give them credit in most cases because they are not allowed to use dented cans. Based on that alone, I wouldn’t touch them.
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### Author:  [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)
#### Post date: [December 22, 2010, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dented-cans/565125/4 "2010-12-22T22:59:19Z")
I’ve eaten many things out of dented cans in my lifetime, and none has ever been bad. I’d eat it, unless there were obvious problems when I opened the can. But I’m crazy like that.
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### Author:  [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2010, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dented-cans/565125/5 "2010-12-23T00:59:10Z")
I would say there is probably no danger from a dented can. A swollen can is a completely different matter though.
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### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2010, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dented-cans/565125/6 "2010-12-23T01:14:22Z")
dents aren’t a problem. unless you see it leaking.
Swollen cans are the ones that require throwing away.
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### Author:  [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2010, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dented-cans/565125/7 "2010-12-23T01:14:34Z")
Depends on the dent, and where it’s located for me. The pop-top cans you can peel open by hand are more susceptible to problems, and if the dent was along the top I would be worried that the seal up there was compromised somehow. If the dent is in the middle or bottom, there’s no leaking or dried-up looking gravy, and the can isn’t swollen or anything, I would probably use it. If you want to be extra careful and use the cans anyway, just heat them in a pan on the stovetop and simmer for 10 minutes. You can always add a little extra water if some simmers off.
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### Author:  [@ExcitedIdiot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExcitedIdiot)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2010, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dented-cans/565125/8 "2010-12-23T01:19:19Z")
From [http://www.fsis.usda.gov/help/faqs\_hotline\_preparation/index.asp](http://www.fsis.usda.gov/help/faqs_hotline_preparation/index.asp)
> [@](#):
>
> While extremely rare, a toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum is the worst danger in canned goods. NEVER USE food from containers that show possible “botulism” warnings: leaking, bulging, or badly dented cans; cracked jars or jars with loose or bulging lids; canned food with a foul odor; or any container that spurts liquid when opening. DON’T TASTE SUCH FOOD! Even a minuscule amount of botulinum toxin can be deadly.
That said, I’ve eaten from dented cans many times. As long as the dent is in the side of the can, and the side seam looks intact, I think it’s ok.
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### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2010, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dented-cans/565125/9 "2010-12-23T02:14:37Z")
Take a perfectly good can. Hit with a ball peen hammer. It will make a dent. Does the food automatically switch for good to poisonous in an instant?
No. As long as the can isn’t leaking, it’s fine. The bulging cans are a bad idea, but that doesn’t have anything to do with denting.
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### Author:  [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2010, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dented-cans/565125/10 "2010-12-23T03:05:33Z")
However, if it _does_ come with a side of botulism, heating it won’t help. Botulism kills with the toxins the little guys produce, not the little guys themselves.
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### Author:  [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2010, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dented-cans/565125/11 "2010-12-23T04:34:59Z")
I agree, if the can is not too badly dented and nothing is leaking from it, I’d eat whatever is in it. I’d open it first, and use the contents right away, though.
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### Author:  [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2010, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dented-cans/565125/12 "2010-12-23T12:21:18Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#):
>
> Depends on the dent, and where it’s located for me. The pop-top cans you can peel open by hand are more susceptible to problems, and if the dent was along the top I would be worried that the seal up there was compromised somehow. If the dent is in the middle or bottom, there’s no leaking or dried-up looking gravy, and the can isn’t swollen or anything, I would probably use it. If you want to be extra careful and use the cans anyway, just heat them in a pan on the stovetop and simmer for 10 minutes. You can always add a little extra water if some simmers off.
> [@Zsofia](#):
>
> However, if it _does_ come with a side of botulism, heating it won’t help. Botulism kills with the toxins the little guys produce, not the little guys themselves.
Quoted for emphasis: **Heating does not destroy the toxins left by botulism** which can kill you dead.
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### Author:  [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2010, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dented-cans/565125/13 "2010-12-23T13:20:50Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#):
>
> IIRC you run the risk of breaking the white liner that’s inside the can which exposes the food to the metal.
Unless the contents were so acidic as to then eat their way right through the metal of the can - and that would cause obvious and visible leakage - then the very worst that would result from this would be a very slight contamination of the food with salts of the metal of the can. As the metals used to make cans are not significantly toxic, this would be quite harmless (and, because of the small amounts involved, very unlikely to affect the taste).
I can remember reading, as a child, that a dented can, so long as it is not leaking, is harmless, but a bulging can is dangerous. A dent could almost be considered a sign of safely, because any internal build up of pressure from bacterial fermentation would soon pop a dent out.
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### Author:  [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2010, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dented-cans/565125/14 "2010-12-23T19:32:35Z")
I just came in to say that in my experience, any food I’ve ever priced from Amazon is way more expensive than I can get elsewhere.