# Canned Tuna: Read those labels!



## ladybug (Aug 18, 2002)

I just noticed a few nights ago that both the Chicken of the Sea Tuna in water and the Starkist Tuna in water have recently added vegetable broth, made from soybeans, on the labels. Also the price has went up to 80 cents a can (from 2/1.00). I was so mad, I wish I could complain and actually get results but I doubt they would listen! :soap:


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## Explorer (Dec 2, 2003)

I'm allergic to soy, so no more of their product for me.


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## MO_cows (Aug 14, 2010)

Read it a little more. I don't remember for sure if it was Chicken of the Sea or Starkist brand, but one of them is a product of Viet Nam. And some of the canned pink salmon isn't wild Alaskan salmon any more, it is now a product of China. I think that one was Chicken of the Sea, too.


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## ladybug (Aug 18, 2002)

Ugh they start buying from China and the price goes up dramatically...why do they say chinese is cheaper? After the costs of shipping and not knowing what you are getting in the can seems like buying it over here would be much better!


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## unregistered29228 (Jan 9, 2008)

Plus the ounces per can has dropped two ounces in the last two years!

We'll stop buying tuna altogether if they are going to use soy in it and keep reducing the ounces per can! I'm going to research this, as we eat a lot of tuna!


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

OMG I really enjoy Tuna and Pink Salmon. I don't like using the "canned"; but use "packaged" instead. Guess I will start reading those packages now and maybe start buying more "fresh/frozen" if I can find some grown in the wild. (Seems so many of the fish are tasting differently than they use to.)


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

We make any cold cooked meat with mayo and chopped veggies sandwhichs. We would eat 2-3 cans of tuna.


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## Dr. Mom (Jan 13, 2008)

I knew the price of tuna had gone up but I never thought to read the label!!! I wonder, if they're adding soy, if the tuna or salmon have other byproducts added also?? :cow: :1pig: :blossom: :cute: :benice: :gromit:


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## Guest (Jan 23, 2011)

I just looked at my stash of tuna. I buy a bunch whenever it's on sale. I have Starkist, Chicken of the Sea, and Bumble Bee. All water pack and all have vegetable broth and soy added. i didn't even know that tuna would eat soy protien.


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## LonelyNorthwind (Mar 6, 2010)

I'm luciky to have an endless supply of wild Alaska salmon 












But I treat us to a case of Azure's tuna once a year. It's amazing, delicious, real.

https://www.azurestandard.com/shop/product/4811/


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## bee (May 12, 2002)

Well unless the label says olive oil I always assume soybean oil...and I just checked the case I bought over a year ago and it is soy oil with soy based broth. I don't get a lot of soy in my diet so I was never concerned. I can't stand water pack tuna and am not allergic to soy. Never thought I got that much anyway as I always well drain it..then add the soy back in in the mayo..ya just can't win!


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## oregon woodsmok (Dec 19, 2010)

I won't buy food from China, and I worry about safety standards for canning in any of the third world countries. I haven't bought canned tuna for years. It's too much stress worrying which can is finally going to kill me.


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## Explorer (Dec 2, 2003)

bee said:


> Well unless the label says olive oil I always assume soybean oil...and I just checked the case I bought over a year ago and it is soy oil with soy based broth. I don't get a lot of soy in my diet so I was never concerned. I can't stand water pack tuna and am not allergic to soy. Never thought I got that much anyway as I always well drain it..then add the soy back in in the mayo..ya just can't win!


I use sour cream in place of mayo, no soy. It tastes better and is better for you.


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

GrammasCabin I am so jealous. We love salmon and have little chance of getting any fresh. You are very fortunate!


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## StaceyS (Nov 19, 2003)

GrammasCabin said:


> I'm luciky to have an endless supply of wild Alaska salmon
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I was going to post how lucky you are about the salmon, but now also want to thank you for posting about azure's tuna. I'd been debating on wether or not to order.


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## unregistered29228 (Jan 9, 2008)

GrammasCabin said:


> I'm luciky to have an endless supply of wild Alaska salmon
> 
> But I treat us to a case of Azure's tuna once a year. It's amazing, delicious, real.
> 
> https://www.azurestandard.com/shop/product/4811/


I wondered if you'd post in this thread - I always love reading about your life and seeing your beautiful photos!

I looked at the Azure tuna, and it says "product of Thailand".


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## LonelyNorthwind (Mar 6, 2010)

Mom_of_Four said:


> I wondered if you'd post in this thread - I always love reading about your life and seeing your beautiful photos!
> 
> I looked at the Azure tuna, and it says "product of Thailand".


Yeah, I know. But it's so darn good, a solid chunk of pure wild tuna, not the cat-food stuff on the grocery shelves. It's spendy too but a can of Azure tuna goes twice as far as any other. If any American produced tuna was that good, I'd buy it instead.


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## LonelyNorthwind (Mar 6, 2010)

Speaking of photos and fish, I have to show you my favorite. 
My boys love to jump in the creek and grab spawning salmon to bring home for me to can up for dog food. This day they were having way too much fun and I'd told them to leave those fish alone now, the dog has enough. Shortly thereafter they come home packing another...which I scolded them for. They got the most disappointed expression and said "but, Gramma! This is the biggest one yet!", so I had to take a picture if they promised to leave those fish alone now. Dontcha just love the unbuttoned pants & bare feet.


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## Trixters_muse (Jan 29, 2008)

Gramma,

Those two adorable boys caught that scary looking fish?? It's almost as big as they are! LOL

They are too cute! They seem to live the kinda life I would wish for any child  

As for canned tuna.... I buy the stuff packed in water and I am glad I have a pretty good supply as I am seeing more and more junk on the shelves. I started using coupons to buy the tuna in the pouch which seems to be a little better in quality but the price is horrible. 

My sons fresh caught fish tastes better anyway so here is a question for you all..... Could some fish, such as the whiting my son catches and the tilapia I raise be cooked and made into cold salad like tuna ? It seems to me it would be tasty, just never tried it. If it worked then I could can up some of our fish when its plentiful and use it to make sandwiches. We have been enjoying fried fish tacos for about a year, so why not whiting or tilapia salad?


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## LonelyNorthwind (Mar 6, 2010)

I can salmon, halibut & snapper (& anything else I can get my hands on). I don't know what whiting or tilapia are but I don't know why any fish can't be canned and used in salads, sandwiches & casseroles.


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

I'm thinking that all tuna are wild caught. I know I saw a program a month or so ago, where juvenile tuna were caught alive, and shipped to Japan, where they were fattened up for the sushi markets.

My point is, I'm thinking most tuna is caught wild, and processed on the factory ships. Not like it's a freshwater fish that can be raised in unsanitary conditions like you'd find in third world countries... (is China still 3rd, or'd they skip up to 2nd... or 1st?)

I'm generally against soy in all it's forms, but I never ever buy tuna with water... that oil is where a lot of calories reside. I've 'licked' the can many a time for that last molecule of oil...

As a faithful reader of labels, big and small, I'll take a gander at the labels next time I'm either in my tuna hoard, or at the grocery store. (I've been stuck a few times in places with zero to read, for weeks at a time, with nothing but labels to read... do this once or twice, and you start keeping paperbacks [w/fine print] in your backpack)


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## oregon woodsmok (Dec 19, 2010)

[[[[......Could some fish, such as the whiting my son catches and the tilapia I raise be cooked and made into cold salad like tuna ?....]]]]

If you mean fresh fish, cooked and cooled, then yes. I've done it. It tastes a lot better than canned tuna. I've made tuna salad out of fresh albacore and it's mighty nice.


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## Old John (May 27, 2004)

Tuna packed in oil stays passably palatable much longer than the water packed tuna.
A couple or 3 years ago, I was cleaning out a closet & found a small box of our old Y2K stuff that had gotten overlooked.
The water packed tuna was mushy & tasted "kind of off". The oil packed tuna was just fine, tasted good enough to eat.
The 7 year old salmon wasn't too good either. DSW wouldn't touch it. The cats ate it with no ill effects though. They loved it.
ETA....7 year old sardines were okay, in oil or mustard. Good to eat. DSW wouldn't touch those either


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## Belfrybat (Feb 21, 2003)

I'm not much on canned tuna, but the local store had them 3/$1 this weekend so I purchased a dozen cans for emergencies. They are packed in soybean oil. I don't have the aversion to soy that many of you have since I don't have thyroid problems, but then again, I don't eat much of it so the soybean oil is OK for me.


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## marinemomtatt (Oct 8, 2006)

I knew about the soy in Tuna, but I didn't know, but NOW know that Progresso Clam Chowder has soy listed as the third ingredient. I won't be buying ANY of their soups again.

We drive to the coast every July and buy Tuna fresh off the boats, it's $2.50 a pound and when we open a jar for supper, the smell and taste is worth the cost (gas, Tuna, jars, lids, propane)


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## Illini (Apr 13, 2009)

So I had to go and look, even though I buy tuna packed in water and was sure I didn't have to be concerned.

StarKist Solid White Albacore Tuna - can says "In Water."

Ingredients: White tuna, Water, VEGETABLE BROTH (!!!!!), Salt, Pyrophosphate. Contains: Fish (Duh!), SOY (!!!!!) .

I guess there won't be any more tuna in my pantry.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

I guess I need some education.

Question 1: Why would the producers of canned tuna bother with making and adding vegetable broth when adding plain ol' water would be cheaper?

Question 2: What is wrong with soybeans? (assuming you're not allergic to them) I eat roasted soybeans all the time you can buy them at the organic co-op. And, 100s of thousands of acres of US farmland are cropped to soybeans. Isn't the health food "tofu" made from soybeans?


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## Nature_Lover (Feb 6, 2005)

CF I don't know the answer to your first question, but I know why I try to avoid soy. I've read that up to 85% of our soy is from genetically modified seed, and it concerns me that we haven't had it in our diet long enough to know for certain whether there are long-term health risks from eating GMO products.

I used to eat a lot of tuna, in the 70s and 80s I ate 3 or 4 cans a week. Times have changed, and I'm surprised at the replies in this thread regarding current canned fish consumption levels.

Canned solid white tuna has high levels of mercury, and is not recommended for children or women who are pregnant, or might get pregnant, some sources recommend no more than 3 cans a month. That said, I'm not in either of those risk groups, but I don't eat it any more. 

Until we get control of industrial mercury environmental poisoning, it's only going to get worse in the top of the food chain fishes.

Here's a "Consumer Guide to Mercury in Fish" with mercury levels and recommended consumption levels from the Natural Resources Defense Council. (there's an interesting link for health professionals to the right of the article)

Here's another article from the NRDC, an overview about mercury contamination in fish.

I hope this helps other HT members make informed choices.


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