Why Don't We Have Ring Pulls On All Cans And Tins | Notes And Queries

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NOOKS AND CRANNIESWhy don't we have ring pulls on all cans and tins - it is much easier to open a tin of dog food than a tin of soup?

  • THE REASON is that "ring-pulls" or Easy-Open (EO) ends are slightly more expensive, so they tend to be mainly used for the more expensive premium quality products. However, market research has shown that many consumers would be prepared to pay a little more for food in an easy-open can because of the added convenience. In the UK, the proportion of food cans with EO ends currently stands at 22% (including petfood) and many more EO ends are expected to be added to canned food products in the next few years. A recent example is HL Foods' HP Baked Beans brand, which uses an end made by Carnaud Metalbox Food UK. The UK petfood market, which is much more sophisticated than other European petfood markets, is a major user of EO ends - they are included on almost all petfood cans in the UK.

    Hilary Schrafft, Features Editor, The Canner magazine, Crawley, West Sussex ([email protected])UK

  • IT MAY be true that ring-pulls on cans and tins make them easier to open for the able-bodied. The story is very different for my mother (arthritic fingers) and myself (tennis elbow). We've had to stop feeding our cat Whiskas for this very reason.

    Judith Hodgkin, Montpelier, Bristol .

  • ALUMINIUM can but tin can't. The riveting operation which attaches the ring-pull to a can lid is very demanding on the material and ring-pulls rely on can lids tearing off easily along a score line on their outer surface. Tin lids fail this test and only a few aluminium alloys meet the required standard. Although cans may have aluminium lids and tin bodies, they are more expensive than cans made entirely of tin.

    (Dr) Josi Gonzalez, Tecnoparque, Barquisimeto, Venezuela ([email protected])

  • RINGPULL CANS can be opened by people with stiff or weak fingers. Use a flat blunt blade to lever the ring up and then insert the handle of a wooden spoon and lever the lid off. My small son can manage it easily this way.

    Imogen Clout, Law Department, University of Sheffield ([email protected])

  • IN JAPAN, many do. We can open a can of soup, tin of tuna and a can of tomatoes at the flick of a finger. Great when camping and you realise that someone forgot to pack the tin opener.

    Debbie Hepples, Morioka, Japan.

  • I RECENTLY wrote to Sainsbury's explaining why I found ring-pull cans a hindrance rather than a help. Apart from the fact that my wife has to use a knife as lever, the lid leaves a flange which prevents the solid contents from sliding neatly out. So the contents have to be scooped out, which is untidy - and inaccurate where only the part-tin is needed. Sainsbury's replied that they were passing my comments on to their buyer.

    Wilfred Goodman, Battle, East Sussex.

  • CAN IT BE true that arthritic and tennis-elbowed women are starving their cats because they haven't the wit to open a ring-pull can with a tin opener?

    J Ruskin, Barnsley.

  • Seriously, to those people that stopped using ring pull cans and try to make us feel sorry for them because the have tennis elbow and arthritis! Did it never occur to them that you can turn the can upside down and open it with a tin opener! Do they have to be told that on the tin too! Wow!

    Trev Flynn, Dublin, Ireland

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