Canned Food Week (April 15-21) - celebrating the UK’s store-cupboard saviour

The canned food market is growing – and at a faster rate than food contained in alternative packaging methods. In the last year, sales of canned goods grew in the UK by 4.6% - that’s 1% higher than the total grocery market, which grew by just 3.6%.

A store-cupboard staple, 99.2% of the UK population (26.2 million households) buy into the canned goods market which is higher than the number of households that buy into the total frozen market, cheese, alcohol and fresh meat categories combined. In monetary figures, consumers spent £2.4 billion on canned goods (£104.3m more than the previous year), with 3.2 billion packs sold.

To help celebrate all things canned, the not-for-profit organisation Canned Food UK, which is made up of leading can and product manufacturers, is launching the first ever Canned Food Week, taking place April 15 – 21.

Canned Food Week is designed to showcase the benefits of canned food, showing consumers that it is a healthy, time-effective and cost-effective way to cook. The week, running Monday to Sunday, takes consumers through a series of recipes designed to make cooking simple and accessible to all, including quick and easy recipes for a ‘Not-So-Manic Monday’ or ‘Watch the Pennies Wednesday’.

Sue Shaw, spokesperson for Canned Food UK, said “Canned food continues to be a much-loved product in almost every household across the UK. Annual figures for the grocery market show that the canned food market is ever-growing and at a faster rate than food in alternative packaging methods.

“The industry is now very adept, with on-going developments in technology. Moreover, the continual introduction of new and innovative products provides consumers with excellent value and a wide variety of choice. Twenty years ago, the main canned foods bought were sweetcorn, tuna and tomatoes. Now, suppliers make an impact with high-value products that have not always been available, from coconut milk, stir-fry vegetables and pulses, through to limited edition flavours of store-cupboard favourites.

“Our greatest challenge as an organisation is changing consumers’ perceptions of canned food – alerting them to realise the scientific efficacy of the canning process and its resulting benefits upon nutrition and the natural preservation of food.”

Canned food is sealed and cooked in the can straight after harvesting, which locks in vitamins and minerals – sometimes retaining more than fresh alternatives. Canned tomatoes, for example, contain more of the cancer-fighting antioxidant lycopene than fresh. Further information about the canning process and nutritional benefits of canned food can be found at cannedfood.co.uk.

Sue concludes: “The growth of the market over the last year shows that our efforts are having a positive effect and consumers are becoming savvier to the facts, which is great news for the industry as a whole.”

For more information about Canned Food Week, visit cannedfood.co.uk/cannedfoodweek.

Quick and easy recipes are available at cannedfood.co.uk. The Canned Food UK u.can cook iPhone app is also free to download, and features more than 90 recipes plus step-by step video demonstrations by celebrity chef James Martin to help consumers with healthy cooking.

Canned Food Week – the days:

April 15: Not-So-Manic Monday
Lentil and Spinach Curry, Bacon, Spam and Bean Pasta, or Spaghetti Bolognese – each takes 5-10 minutes to prepare.

April 16: Tasty Tuesday
Prawn and Chickpea Balti, Quick Lamb Tagine or Chicken Dhansak.

April 17: Watch the Pennies Wednesday
Salmon Pate, Tuna Salad and Minestrone Soup – each cost under £1 per head to make.

April 18: Transform Yourself Thursday
Roasted Vegetable and Cous Cous Salad, Sweet and Sour Vegetable Stir Fry or a Very Berry Smoothie.

April 19: Family Friday
Filled Sweet Potatoes, Fun Fish Cakes with Vegetable Pasta and Clever Mash, and Carrot and Pineapple Picnic Squares.

April 20: Superfood Saturday
Borlotti Bean and Tuna Salad with Pine Nuts, Mango, Apricot and Coconut Smoothie, and Salmon and Brocolli Quiche.

April 21: Sweet Sunday
Cinnamon Apple and Pear Crumble Cake with Custard, Raspberry Rice Crumble and Rhubarb and Blackberry Breakfast Muffins.