The Royal Navy’s preserved meat “scandal”: Estimating the edible quantity and nutritional deficiencies of the Franklin expedition’s canned provisions

Abstract In January 1852, as searches continued for Sir John Franklin’s missing Arctic expedition, large quantities of preserved (that is, canned) meats supplied to the Royal Navy were found putrid and caused concern that the expedition had received similar meats with fatal consequences. Whilst a Parliamentary enquiry concluded correctly that the expedition had received good-quality meats, it neglected the fact that some 5% of all canned meats were condemned on ships due to damage and corrosion. As the Franklin expedition would be no exception, the study applies recent evidence of the expedition’s victualling schedule to estimate the number of cans condemned by the time at Beechey Island when a decision would be made whether enough remained to sustain the mission. It also estimates the vitamin B1 (thiamine) content of the meat because high temperatures during canning would have degraded or destroyed that vitamin, and vitamin C, both being essential to health. Any reduction in general rations would add to the decline in the quality of the diet. The expedition’s unique circumstances of long entrapment without recourse to hunting to supplement such deficiencies, or to escape, would prove fatal regardless of the good quality of the canned provisions.