ABSTRACT
Food processing and distribution are competitive enterprises that must preserve the capital value of plants and minimize the costs of products and packaging. To that extent, their needs to control materials degradation are similar to those of other industries, but additional factors introduce differences in approach: supply and distribution of food is subject to scrutiny by public health authorities and sensitive to consumer confidence. Corrosion products and degraded protective coatings must not be allowed to accumulate because they offer sites for harmful bacteria to colonize. The preservative function of tin-coated steel cans has been overtaken by their convenience as food and beverage dispensers, representing the largest area of food/metal contact. Dairy industries treat and distribute milk, use it as the feedstock for other foods, principally butter, cheese and yogurt and extract residual values as by-products. Corrosion control of the plant depends on the nature of these products and on the processes by which they are produced.
