Edge protection prevents spoilage by protecting easy-open cans from punctures and leaks.

PF PalletTop has created a simple, cost-effective way to prevent potentially serious spoilage during shipping and storage of canned perishables.

The solution was developed for a perishables manufacturer that uses the increasingly common easy-open pop-top cans to package its product. The lids of these cans have a circular score around the perimeter next to the seam and a pull-tab that together eliminate the need for a can opener.

However, because the lid is scored to make it easy to pull open, it also is more prone to accidental punctures that break the vacuum seal. Even stress-caused pinholes invisible to the naked eye can ruin the product inside the can by letting in air that causes microbial growth.

When pallets of the cans are double-stacked, a pallet edge or corner can end up resting on the soft middle of the can tops, instead of on the can rims, says Todd Hanier, Laminations packaging solutions engineer. The result can be punctures or broken seals that lead to spoiled product.

The solution was to protect the top edge of the pallet loads by using a heavy-duty caliper of PF PalletTop with leg lengths that spanned the entire diameter of the cans.

“By completely covering the tops of the cans on the outside top rows with PF PalletTop, we are able to spread the weight of the top pallet across the chime (lid) of the cans beneath,” Hainer says. “That takes the weight off the relatively soft tops of the can and reduces the possibility of a pallet corner or edge poking into the cans.”