Todd,

The danger to adjacent collections occurs when biological activity or
fermentation occurs in cans and they bulge and can explode in situ. Also
other foodstuffs in containers such as cardboard or wood can also be
overcome by mold and fungi. These present very real hazards for the staff
and visitors as well as the collections themselves. If the container is
important and not the contents then you can carefully drill a small hole in
the bottom of a can, for example, and evacuate the contents then rise it out
with alcohol. After drying the hole can be plugged or filled with an inert
and reversible material. When I was consulting with the Alaska State Museum
we came across some beer cans that were bulging and discussed the same issue
- so you may want to contact conservator Ellen Carlee up there as to what
they decided to do in that case.

If the foodstuffs are important then further study and treatment of those
may be required. Either storage in isolation from the other collections,
freezing, or even freeze drying may all be viable options.

If you have an objects conservator on staff or one who you consult with
there you should spend a day with them going through the foodstuffs
collection and getting an idea of which items are high priority that need to
be addressed.

Cheers!
Dave

David Harvey
Senior Conservator and Museum Consultant
Los Angeles CA

On Tue, Feb 22, 2011 at 10:08 AM, Topper, Todd
<[log in to unmask]>wrote:

>  Hello everyone,
>
>
>
> I have some questions about maintaining original food packaging and
> containers as artifacts.  We have been collecting this sort of thing for the
> past forty to fifty years with the intent to document and present how food
> was perhaps pre-prepared, stored, marketed, and sold in Colorado.   Many of
> these tins, bottles, and boxes still hold their original contents--such as
> canned chestnuts, full bottles of Coors beer, or microwaveable TV dinners.
> Some of these were quite old when we collected them—so may date to the ’20s
> or ‘30s.  Although these have been around for a long time, and most are
> sealed.  I’m concerned about these potentially attracting pests or creating
> a potentially hazardous/noxious environment when the sealed container
> eventually fails.   Do any of you have policy or procedure in place that
> deals with such collections?
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
>
>
> Todd
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Todd Topper
>
> Director of Collections Management
>
> Colorado Historical Society—History Colorado
>
> 1560 Broadway
>
> Denver, CO 80202
>
> 303-866-4693
>
>
>
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