Mistakes to Avoid When First Canning Your Products — And How to Fix Them

Canning is a powerful way to preserve beverages and food — from craft drinks and cold brew to sauces and soups — but even small mistakes can cost you time, product quality, and money. Whether you’re just getting started or moving from DIY setups to a professional manual line with Eazy Canning’s FENIX filler and iKAN seamer, knowing what to avoid — and how to fix issues — keeps your process running smoothly and your products tasting great.

1. Ignoring Oxygen Management

Why it matters: Exposure to oxygen during filling can degrade flavor, shorten shelf life, and increase oxidation — especially in carbonated or delicate beverages.

Common mistake:

Failing to purge cans with inert gas before filling or mismanaging counter-pressure during filling.

How to fix it:

• Use the FENIX filler’s counter-pressure capability to pressurize cans before filling so oxygen doesn’t enter.
  
• Match or slightly exceed the beverage’s pressure inside the can to minimize air exposure.
  
• Frequently inspect and replace sealing gaskets to keep a tight fill head seal.

2. Mis-Calibrated Filling Settings (Overfill or Underfill)

Why it matters: Overfilling causes spillage and makes sealing difficult; underfilling looks unprofessional and can lead to compliance issues.

Common mistake:

Incorrect timing or valve settings on the filler, often due to worn seals or inconsistent pressure.

How to fix it:

• Adjust and recalibrate fill time and flow rate before each batch.
  
• Run trial cans (“blank” runs) to fine-tune settings.
  
• Replace O-rings and seals regularly to ensure consistency.

3. Excessive Foaming During Filling

Why it matters: Foam can overflow, slow down production, introduce oxygen, and impact beverage quality.

Common mistake:

Low counter-pressure, high flow rate, or worn sealing clamps that allow foam to form.

How to fix it:

• Increase counter-pressure (often around ~2–4 bar for carbonated drinks) to control foaming.
  
• Maintain the clamp’s sealing gasket; replace when worn.
  
• Slow the fill rate to reduce turbulence.

4. Poor Seam Formation

Why it matters: Weak, misaligned, or incomplete seams cause leaks, contamination, and loss of carbonation.

Common mistake:

Misaligned seaming tooling, incorrect lifter height, or worn seaming rolls.

How to fix it:

• Perform regular calibration and alignment of seaming rolls and tooling.
  
• Inspect tooling for wear and replace parts like chuck liners or rolls proactively.
  
• Use seam inspection tools (e.g., gauges or micrometers) to double-check results.

5. Skipping Cleaning, Sanitation, and Maintenance

Why it matters: Residue buildup, bacterial contamination, and poor machine performance are all risks when regular cleaning is neglected.

Common mistake:

No clean-in-place (CIP) routine, irregular inspection, or allowing seals and gaskets to degrade.

How to fix it:

• Implement daily cleaning and sanitation with food-grade products.
  
• Use the FENIX filler’s CIP compatibility to clean internal passages without full disassembly.
  
• Schedule regular preventive maintenance — daily, weekly, monthly — to ensure parts are performing correctly.

6. Relying Only on Visual Inspection

Why it matters: A seam or fill may look okay at a glance but still have hidden defects.

Common mistake:

Not using measurement tools, which can miss subtle but serious defects like weak interlocks.

How to fix it:

• Combine visual checks with dimensional measurements using seam micrometers or feeler gauges.
  
• Build a QC checklist that’s filled out each batch.

7. Underestimating Training & Labor

Why it matters: Manual canning operations require skill and consistency — inexperienced operators can introduce errors.

Common mistake:

Poor onboarding, lack of standard operating procedures (SOPs), or inconsistent techniques.

How to fix it:

• Develop detailed SOPs for every step — purge, fill, seam, QC, and maintenance.
  
• Use Eazy Canning’s guides and tutorials to educate new operators.
  
• Track training and use logs to build consistency and confidence.

8. Scaling Without Validation

Why it matters: Manual systems have throughput limits; scaling production too quickly without optimizing processes leads to bottlenecks.

Common mistake:

Increasing batch sizes or SKU complexity before stabilizing the existing workflow.

How to fix it:

• Pilot test new SKUs and larger batches before full production.
  
• Monitor metrics (fill time, seam quality, reject rate) to know when manual operations are near capacity.

9. Using Incorrect Can / Lid Formats

Why it matters: Wrong sizes or incompatible can types lead to sealing problems, corrosion, or mismatched tooling.

Common mistake:
Ordering cans or lids without checking compatibility with your seamer or filler.

How to fix it:

• Confirm diameter and spec before ordering packaging materials.
  
• Test new can or lid formats in small runs and inspect the seams before full production.

10. Neglecting Documentation and Traceability

Why it matters: Without records, it’s hard to identify trends and troubleshoot recurring problems.

Common mistake:

Skipping batch logs, maintenance records, or QC data.

How to fix it:

• Create a documentation system including fill settings, purge parameters, inspection results, and maintenance activities.
  
• Review logs regularly to spot patterns and refine processes.

Final Thoughts

Starting your canning journey with the right awareness of potential pitfalls can make all the difference between wasted product and consistently high-quality results. Manual canning lines built around Eazy Canning’s FENIX filler and iKAN seamer provide tremendous control and professional results — as long as they’re used with awareness, training, and maintenance.

By avoiding common mistakes — from oxygen mishaps and calibration errors to seam defects and poor documentation — you’ll not only protect your product but also build a foundation of craftsmanship that grows with your brand.

Want a downloadable canning checklist you can use before every batch? I can draft one for you!