Tomato soup tin explodes in man's face, slicing open his nose - ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Dick Lanyon suffered a nasty cut to his nose after a tin of tomato soup exploded in his face. (Supplied: Dick Lanyon)

A tin of tomato soup exploded in a man's face, ejecting the sharp-edged metal lid into his nose.

Dick Lanyon suffered a deep cut requiring medical attention.

It's unknown why the tin exploded, but similar incidents around the world have been linked to bacterial contamination that has caused gas build-up.

A tin of tomato soup may not seem like something to be afraid of.

But that is now the case for one northern Victoria farmer, who had a soup tin explode in his face, leaving him with a deep cut on his nose.

Dick Lanyon, from Boort, recounted to the ABC what happened in his kitchen last week.

"Last Wednesday night I heard an explosion in my kitchen — I went out to have a look and couldn't find anything and just assumed something must have fallen down," he said.

"The next morning I saw in my cupboard there was soup sprayed up the back of it and I saw a tin of soup where the lid had blown off."

The first soup tin explosion in Dick Lanyon's kitchen left a mess in his pantry. (Supplied: Dick Lanyon)

That was just the beginning of Mr Lanyon's soup ordeal.

The next day he discovered another tin of the same Heinz Big Red tomato soup — this one with the bottom badly distended.

Fearing another explosion was imminent, he attempted to dispose of the tin in his rubbish bin.

"I got to the bin, and the tin exploded in my face and the whole lid sliced up the side of my nose," Mr Lanyon said.

After a trip to the hospital, Mr Lanyon's nose was patched up, but he's been left with an enduring wariness of soup tins.

"I've thrown all my other soup tins in the bin," he said.

"No-one expects a tin of soup to explode in their face."

The tins of tomato soup expanded at their bases, before the lids blew off. (Supplied: Dick Lanyon )

Mr Lanyon said he had no idea why the cans exploded, although he had since read online about similar incidents caused by bacterial contamination.

"I can't find an expiry date on them, but they were probably three to five years old," he said.

"I've heard incidents of people trying to heat up cans in a campfire and having horrific injuries, but I certainly didn't expect this to explode for no reason at all.

In a statement, Food Standards Australia and New Zealand said the shelf life of canned food depended on whether the tins were kept in a cool, dry place.

"Consumers should always check canned foods for signs of damage before use, including swelling, leakage, rust, dents or damaged seams.

"Food in swollen, leaking or otherwise damaged cans should not be consumed."

Despite his injuries, Mr Lanyon had a positive outlook on the incident, and said he didn't plan to lodge a complaint with Heinz.

"It could have been a lot worse — I was very happy it didn't hit me in the eye, because that would have done a lot of damage," he said.

"Because I'm not badly injured, I thought I'd probably just let it slide."

He did, however, urge others to check their pantries for bulging tins.

Heinz has been contacted for comment.