ABC News 4 reports finding a way to save food that’s still good for those in need.
“It’s a chamber that we designed to do a non-destructive test on a can that was potentially suspected of having a leak or a seem violation,” said Rich Dabruzzi, a five year volunteer with the Lowcountry Food Bank and inventor of the Can Reclamation Vacuum Chamber.
Dented cans of food received at the Lowcountry Food Bank used to be thrown away for safety reasons, now, thanks to Dabruzzi’s a one of a kind invention, many of those cans can be saved.
“The only way that I could think about saving a can was figuring out how to get the contents to come out of the can and a vacuum was the first thing that popped into my mind,” said Dabruzzi.
Dabruzzi’s Can Reclamation Vacuum Chamber can hold around 120 cans and takes about five minutes to suck contents out of cans too damaged for use.
“Our first order of inspection after we open it is to smell, if we can smell food, we know we have a violated container somewhere,” said Dabruzzi.
Dented cans withstanding the vacuuming process without leaks or smell then go through a few more inspections before being cleared for safe use.
Photo by ABC News 4.