The Mystery Of The Never-opened Can With The Missing Liquid

[LadyLondonderry]

A couple of months ago I bought a 24-can case of Rawz Beef. We've gone through 10 cans of it so far, and I've commented here that the food in some of them seemed rather dry. This morning I picked up one of the remaining cans and was struck by the sound I heard when I shook the can -- the sound of a hockey puck banging around inside a dry can. I shook another can from the same case (same serial number and best-by date) and could hear the normal sound of liquid sloshing around in it.

I then got out my digital kitchen scale and weighed the two cans. The normal one weighed 6.22 ounces, while the dry-sounding one weighed only 3.76 ounces! The dry can didn't look as if it had been damaged beyond a small dent or crimp in the edge on top, but the bottom appeared to have some dried broth/gravy residue on it.

I shared this information with Rawz via their Facebook page and they responded promptly, saying they will look into it but think it must have happened in transit.

A few days ago I got a case of Rawz Duck (from a different retailer) in which two cans were severely dented and leaking gravy. The retailer refunded the price of the two cans. I let Rawz know about that incident, too. I know the delivery services handle packages roughly (I hear them throwing boxes against my door), but maybe there's some weakness in the design of these cans? If so, I want Rawz to fix it, because their food is great.

 

[Willowy]

The dry one could have just been a manufacturing error. It happens.

Damage in shipping is pretty common for canned foods. I had one package from Chewy last week that had a busted can in it. I didn't need it right away so I didn't open the box, just set it aside. After a few days I started to wonder where that bad smell was coming from. . .yuck!

But most companies that ship online are pretty good about giving you a refund for damaged cans.

 

[LadyLondonderry]

Yes, it occurred to me at first that this could have been a manufacturing error (no liquid added to the can), but the residue on the bottom of the can made it seem more likely that there was liquid in it but it somehow seeped out -- but not after it was packed in the case, since there was no evidence of leakage there.

I can't recall having gotten any damaged (to the point of unusability) cans before these, even though I got monthly shipments from Chewy for years. Guess the odds finally caught up with me.

 

[Kflowers]

Many of the cat food cans are made of aluminum, which is actually kinda fragile when treated like a football. You stand a better chance with steel cans, but I can't remember the last time I saw cat food in a steel can.

Also the easy zip top opening is another weakness in the can. It is also a danger to your fingers and to any animal living in the landfill looking for something to eat. The inside rim is extremely sharp and will cut little faces checking the cans out. Be careful when you throw them away.

 

[LadyLondonderry]

I recalled Merrick's cans being steel (based on my fairly recent experience with their Purrfect Bistro cans) and found a trade-magazine article, published this month, that confirms it:

"At Merrick, Smith reports that the company’s cans are made of tin-coated steel with an organic coating on the inside of the can. 'As with other steel items, they can be recycled,' she says."

Can appeal – canned pet food has its place in the pet food market, offering benefits and a format for new products. | 2018-10-10 | Food Business News

 

[Kflowers]

steel should help.

 

[Willowy]

The can I had that popped open was a large 13-oz Friskies can, made of steel. Yeah, it was the easy-open top that popped. A regular can, without a pop top, can take a lot of abuse before the seal is compromised. But those pop tops are meant to be easy to open :/.

 

[lalagimp]

But those pop tops are meant to be easy to open :/.

Not the Merrick Thanksgiving Day Dinner ones I have right now. The pull tab will break off partway while getting it open, before you can even get it open. One can I opened partway, and then had to pry the rest open with a butter knife.
These have proven to be the most difficult cans I have encountered.

 

[Willowy]

Haha! Isn't that the way it always is; they don't open when you want them to open, but they break open when you don't want them to. . .of course!

 

[cheeser]

Oh, gosh. We had a run of bad luck a few years ago where the cans would get so badly damaged in transit, they'd pop open, and the boxes would be dripping wet when they arrived. And at the time, we were buying a lot of Tiki Cat Gourmet Carnivore, which was extremely soupy. I can't tell you how awful that smelled during our miserably hot and humid Texas summers!

Thankfully, Chewy's customer service department totally rocks. I just wish FedEx would treat our orders with a little more TLC.

 

[LadyLondonderry]

Oh, gosh. We had a run of bad luck a few years ago where the cans would get so badly damaged in transit, they'd pop open, and the boxes would be dripping wet when they arrived. And at the time, we were buying a lot of Tiki Cat Gourmet Carnivore, which was extremely soupy. I can't tell you how awful that smelled during our miserably hot and humid Texas summers!

Thankfully, Chewy's customer service department totally rocks. I just wish FedEx would treat our orders with a little more TLC.

I'm sorry you had to deal with all that mess!

I join you in wishing our orders would be delivered with more TLC. As I mentioned above, the standard M.O. seems to be "hurl it against the door at maximum speed and run back to the double-parked truck."

 

[LadyLondonderry]

Props to Cherrybrook, from whom I ordered the duck. A day after they resolved that issue, I ordered a case of Rawz Rabbit from them. When it arrived yesterday, I was pleased to find that all the cans looked fine, no dents or leaking to be seen. They had packed the case with a double layer of heavy-duty bubble wrap on top and bottom, which gave the cans sufficient protection in transit.