So canning supplies have been difficult to find since covid and also have greatly increased in price. I pretty much only need lids anymore as I own enough glass. I buy American made lids when I see them. Many are now being imported from China which I avoid.

Lots of problems lately. Newell Corp bought out Ball, Kerr, Anchor Hocking, etc. a few years ago. They basically shut down during covid right after.

Yesterday I canned a bunch of pasta sauce and two of the quarts did not seal.

When they were cool enough I opened them and examined the lids and found that the silicone seal was applied unevenly. Big blob on part of it which caused the failure. I went through the box and examined the remaining lids and found more the same way. So now, large mouth lids are approaching $5 a box. I found half of the box in this condition which means they are useless. Other times I have found multiple lids in new boxes with dents in them. There does not appear to be a reliable QC process with Newell Corp.

I had to re-process those jars. Pissed off.

We have found damaged lids also in new boxes. I am going to start changing brands.

Jerry, the big problem is none of the rest are made in USA. I won't buy/use chinese pot metal on my preserves.

I wanted to look at the Forjars lids. They are thicker.
https://forjars.co/?utm_source...K3Z0zLoaAvQ3EALw_wcB

Made in china.

Ah. Dang it.

Jerry, I see tons of adverts on the facebook from new canning supply companies. They all write their ads as based in USA but so far, all of them do their manufacturing in china.

I ask when I see their posts where their stuff is made. Always china. I voice my opinion and tell them make it 'here' and I will try them. So far, none have made the change and these companies have been showing up since covid shut the Ball factories down two years ago.

Unfortunately I am seeing quite a lot of QC problems since Newell bought out Ball.

I'm canning more tomato sauce this afternoon and praying everything seals.

Ann, have you ever tried re-using grocery store jars? You can clean and re-can in vegetable and fruit packaging from commercial products like pickles, peppers, spaghetti sauce, fruit cocktail, etc. Clean as usual. Turn on the lids until they just touch the mouth and process. Then tighten as usual, checking the lid. You can also "can" in vacuum plastic food bags like a Foodsaver. Take your liquid food item and freeze until stiff. Then vacuum seal it. Lastly, process in boiling water to sterilize. The same process they use for MRE's.

Yes, I use most glass from store bought items but only for dry goods. I do not can with them. That said, I hardly ever buy anything in a useful container anymore as I preserve much of my own food!

Commercial canneries have much better equipment and no doubt have different pressures to process foods at as compared to home canning. I only can food items that have been USDA tested. I still do so with my Ball book and follow it to a 'T'.