<P> During the mid-19th century, canned food became a status symbol amongst middle - class households in Europe, being something of a frivolous novelty . Early methods of manufacture employed poisonous lead solder for sealing the cans, which may have worsened the disastrous outcome of the 1845 Franklin expedition to chart and navigate the Northwest Passage . </P> <P> Increasing mechanization of the canning process, coupled with a huge increase in urban populations across Europe, resulted in a rising demand for canned food . A number of inventions and improvements followed, and by the 1860s smaller machine - made steel cans were possible, and the time to cook food in sealed cans had been reduced from around six hours to thirty minutes . </P> <P> Canned food also began to spread beyond Europe--Robert Ayars established the first American canning factory in New York City in 1812, using improved tin - plated wrought - iron cans for preserving oysters, meats, fruits and vegetables . Demand for canned food greatly increased during wars . Large - scale wars in the nineteenth century, such as the Crimean War, American Civil War, and Franco - Prussian War introduced increasing numbers of working - class men to canned food, and allowed canning companies to expand their businesses to meet military demands for non-perishable food, allowing companies to manufacture in bulk and sell to wider civilian markets after wars ended . Urban populations in Victorian Britain demanded ever - increasing quantities of cheap, varied, quality food that they could keep at home without having to go shopping daily . In response, companies such as Underwood, Nestlé, Heinz, and others provided quality canned food for sale to working class city - dwellers . In particular, Crosse and Blackwell took over the concern of Donkin Hall and Gamble . The late 19th century saw the range of canned food available to urban populations greatly increase, as canners competed with each other using novel foodstuffs, highly decorated printed labels, and lower prices . </P> <P> Demand for canned food skyrocketed during World War I, as military commanders sought vast quantities of cheap, high - calorie food to feed their millions of soldiers, which could be transported safely, survive trench conditions, and not spoil in transport . Throughout the war, soldiers generally subsisted on low - quality canned foodstuffs, such as the British "Bully Beef" (cheap corned beef), pork and beans, canned sausages, and Maconochies Irish Stew, but by 1916, widespread dissatisfaction with cheap canned food amongst soldiers resulted in militaries purchasing better - quality food to improve morale and the complete meals in a can began to appear . In 1917, the French Army began issuing canned French cuisine, such as coq au vin, Beef Bourguignon and Vichyssoise while the Italian Army experimented with canned ravioli, spaghetti bolognese, Minestrone and Pasta e fagioli . Shortages of canned food in the British Army in 1917 led to the government issuing cigarettes and amphetamines to soldiers to suppress their appetites . After the war, companies that had supplied military canned food improved the quality of their goods for civilian sale . </P>

When did canned food became popular in america
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