Tiny canned fruits have undergone ups and downs over the past decade or two: from essential gifts for visiting relatives and friends, to a few abandoned due to preservative problems, and recently salted fish turned over and became a popular casual food in supermarkets.
The reporter saw a wide variety of canned fruits on the shelves at the Beihu Wushang Commercial Store yesterday, including yellow peaches, strawberries, Sydney, orange slices, lychees, pineapples, coconuts, etc. The price of canned fruits is not too expensive. For example, a 530g bottle of assorted canned fruits sells for 8.9 yuan. Many canned food additives have "citric acid and vitamin C" in the column, and some clearly indicate "no artificial colors and preservatives".

According to Cheng Jun, general manager of Zhongbai Warehousing, he thought that the canned fruit was no longer needed, and the supermarket had planned to eliminate it all from the shelves. However, recent statistics unexpectedly found that the sales of this category have been steadily increasing at an annual growth rate of 10%. With a little attention, many young customers even carry boxes of canned fruits home. Among those fashionable men and women who have no time to peel apples, a new "canned food" has even been born.

Wang Hao, a grain and oil condiment buyer who is in charge of canned food at China Merchants, said that although there are more and more fresh fruits on the market, canned food is an indispensable item in supermarkets as a convenience food. Its sales have remained stable recently. Fast-paced youth and tourists are its main customer groups.

Twenty years ago, canned fruit was a popular gift. However, with the improvement of living standards, people are gradually alienating canned fruits with preservatives due to food safety considerations. According to Yin Zhicheng, a food preservation expert and former chief engineer of Wuhan Food Research Institute, technological progress has contributed to the return of canned fruits. Modern preservation technology is very mature. Canned food relies on vacuum, sealing and sterilization, and can be preserved for a long time without adding preservatives.