Why Summer Shipping Temperatures Don’t Affect Canned Seafood Safety
We occasionally hear from customers who are concerned when their cans arrive warm after traveling through hot summer weather.
The good news is that this is exactly what commercially canned foods are designed for.
Before our seafood ever leaves the cannery, each sealed can undergoes a commercial sterilization process called retort processing. During this process, the cans are heated under pressure to approximately 240–250°F—more than 100°F hotter than even an extremely hot delivery truck in the summer. This scientifically validated process destroys harmful microorganisms and creates a commercially sterile, shelf-stable product that can be safely stored at room temperature for years.
For comparison:
- 🌞 A hot delivery truck in summer: approximately 100–140°F
- 🥫 Our commercial canning process: approximately 240–250°F
When a can arrives warm to the touch, it simply means the metal has absorbed heat from the surrounding air. It does not mean the food has spoiled or become unsafe.
A helpful way to think about it is this:
Imagine getting into your car after it’s been parked in the sun. The steering wheel and seatbelt buckle may be almost too hot to touch, but that doesn’t mean everything inside the car has been damaged. In the same way, the outside of a can may become warm during shipping, while the sealed food inside remains perfectly safe.
In fact, our seafood has already experienced temperatures around 250°F during the canning process. A 100°F summer day—or even the warmer temperatures inside a delivery truck—is nowhere near the temperatures used to commercially sterilize canned foods.
As long as the can remains properly sealed and is not swollen, leaking, or severely damaged, the food inside remains safe. Commercially canned seafood is specifically designed to withstand normal shipping and storage conditions, including summer heat.
We ship thousands of cases of canned seafood throughout the United States every year—including during the hottest months—and warm cans upon arrival are completely normal. You can enjoy your seafood with confidence knowing it has been processed to the highest commercial food safety standards.