The response of consumers to the third 

 open question in the tuna section of the 

 survey revealed that there is considerable 

 dislike of the oil. Such criticisms as 

 "too oily" and "too fattening" were ex- 

 pressed by it? percent in Boston, h^ percent 

 in iJetroit, and 25 percent in Birmingham. 

 ,. consumer product test of tuna packed in 

 varyinj amounts of oil is recommended to 

 determine quantity of oil preferred, i-. 

 reduction in the amount of oil presently in 

 use is indicated. 



Tuna Packed in Brine 



One of the specific objectives of this 

 s'jrvey was to detsrmine the acceptance in 

 the market of tuna packed in brine, a mat- 

 ter of considerable importance to the 

 canned fish industry. , series of Ques- 

 tions bearing directly on this problem was 

 asked of the tuna users and yielded the 

 followin;-; data. 



The proportion of tuna users who have 

 tried tuna packed in brine varies consider- 

 ably among the three cities. The propor- 

 tion of triers is 63 percent in Boston, 25 

 percent in Detroit, and only 8 percent in 

 Birmingham, 



Percentage of tuna users 

 10 20 30 UO 50 60 70 



Boston 



Detroit 



Birmingham 



FIGURE III . —FSRCSNTAGE OF TUNA USERS 

 WHO HAVE TRIED TUNA PACKED IN BRINE 



A most significant finding is that 

 among those who tried tuna packed in 

 brine, about as many prefer tuna in brine 

 as tuna packed in oil. This situation 

 prevailed in all three cities. 



This finding is confirmed by the 

 negative approach in the analysis of what 

 is disliked about tuna packed in brine. 

 In both Binningham and Boston, about 60 

 percent of those who tried it found 

 nothing to dislike about tuna packed in 

 brine J in Detroit, 39 percent found 

 nothing to dislike. 



There is very little inclination among 

 the tuna users to pay more for tuna packed 

 in oil than for tuna in brine . In Boston, 

 61 percent said they would pay no more for 

 oil than for brine; in Detroit, SS percent 

 and in Birmingham, Uo percent. It is sig- 

 nificant that these percentages were al- 

 most the sane as those having actual 

 experience with tuna packed in brine. 



Again using the negative approach, 

 there is no strong disinclination to try 

 tuna packed in brine. Lack of awareness 

 of t'jna packed in brine was the major 

 reason given by those who have not as yet 

 tried it: 6? percent in Birmingham; U6 

 percent in Boston; 68 percent in Detroit. 



Finally, loyalty to tuna packed in 

 brine in Boston is even stronger than for 

 tuna packed in oil. In this city, 85 per- 

 cent of those preferring brine indicated 

 that they alwaj'^s buy tuna packed in brine 

 as compared to 71 percent for those who 

 preferred tuna packed in oil. In Detroit, 

 the comparable percentages were I48 percent 

 and 52 percent. 



Additional opinions and preferences of 

 users who have tried tuna packed in brine 

 may be siajmnarized briefly. Tuna packed in 

 brine compares favorably with tuna packed 

 in oil with respect to taste for this 

 group. The major reason given for liking 

 tuna packed in brine for all three cities 

 is "lack of oil, less fattening," followed 

 by "taste." The triers in all three cities 

 prefer white-meat tuna packed in brine to 

 light -me at tuna. Boston triers prefer the 

 solid-style tuna packed in brine. In 

 Boston, the tuna users who have tried tuna 

 packed in brine selected the brine pack 

 over the oil pack as having more uses. 



