Monday, November 9, 2009

Do You See a Problem with This?

Tuna Casserole is on the menu for dinner tonight. Therefore, I need tuna, right? Well, lately I've been really trying to keep the spending down and decided to try the Chicken of the Sea at Costco. I've also been trying the Bumble Bee tuna when I find a good sale. Regardless of the brand, I always buy tuna in water.


I was reading the can on the Chicken of the Sea while I was making the tuna casserole and imagine my surprise when I discovered that they add "vegetable broth which contains soy", "salt", and "pyrophosphate" (which is a preservative). That is gross.


Why do we need vegetable broth and salt in our tuna? And, if we already have salt, why do we need "pyrophosphate"? Is it needed to preserve the vegetable broth?

Of course, after reading this, I ran to the cupboard and grabbed my can of Bumble Bee tuna. Again, packed in water.


This time, however, that is all that was there. Tuna and demineralized water.

Okay, then, Bumble Bee tuna is fine.



What about my beloved Starkist in the pouch? Ack! Say it isn't so! It, too, has "Vegetable Broth, Salt" and a warning that it contains: "Fish and Soybeans."



I was really surprised to discover that there was more than tuna and water in any of these. Call me naive, but since they were all called "tuna in water" I thought that is what they were.

I guess the Nagles are switching to Bumble Bee. It seems to be the only tuna that is only putting water in its tuna "in water" and it is actually the least expensive. Go figure.

7 comments:

Abatevintage said...

Oh this was interesting, I don't like all the added ingrediants either because they cause water retention and higher cholesterol. I will avoid them ;0)

Have a wonderful week.

Blessings,
Heidi

More Than Words said...

I didn't know that. Thanks for sharing that information!!

Anonymous said...

What about the taste? I've always used StarKist. Do they all taste the same. I guess Tuna would be Tuna, huh?

Erin said...

No, they don't all taste the same. The Chicken of the Sea was voted "icky" by the entire family and the Starkist in the pouch voted best.

Anonymous said...

So the presevative in the Chicken of the Sea may actually make it taste bad. Wonder if the company realizes that. I prefer Starkist. Don't really mind the Vegetable Broth, but wouldn't want some preservative I can't pronounce or spell. Salt is okay, though I'd rather add it myself. It could be as little as a pinch or as much as a truckload and they have to tell you they add it. I'll try the Bumble Bee and see, but right now, I have about ten cans of StarKist so it will be a while. The girls eat a lot of Tuna. LOL

Clark said...

Arrgghhhhh!!!! I feel a "Mrs. Butterworth" issue unfolding here. I went out online and found the following for Starkist Tuna "Vegetable broth is added to some StarKist® Tuna products as a flavor enhancer. The broth must consist of two or more of the following: beans, cabbage, carrots, celery, garlic, onions, parsley, peas, potatoes, green or red bell peppers, spinach, or tomatoes. " I do not see anything harmful in the Starkist and it is a SUPERIOR product to the rest. You can guess where my vote goes.

Anonymous said...

The broth is definitely meant to be a flavor enhancer. Which begs the question, What is the quality of the fish itself? I would venture to guess (I do not know for sure) that Bumble Bee is using better fish which allows them to avoid the broth issue. Of course tuna isn't actually tuna anyway, its albacore. But that is another story. Oh, and the fishing practices of all of these companies is questionable as it is putting an enormous strain to the Oceans' ecosystems. But that seems to be the case with just about anything we eat in large quantities. Beef, chicken, soy, corn all have questionable production practices that put the overall safety of our food supply and the earth at risk. I pretty much don't eat tuna anymore because Fig HATES it, not just a little bit... loathes it. He can not even tolerate the smell. I can live with out it so I rarely buy it. When I get the odd craving for it, I buy the best can of all white tuna in water I can find. (I must admit it is usually Trader Joe's).