THE PROCESSING OF TUNA 



by 

 Maurice E. Stansby 1/ 



The purpose of this particular discussion is to review the principal techno- 

 logical problems of the tuna processing industry as I see them, and consider how these 

 problems can best be solved by joint efforts of industry and Government. It may appear 

 presumptuous for me to tell you in industry what your problems are. Surely you in indus- 

 try are far more familiar with your own problems than anyone in Government can be. Yet 

 I feel sure you can appreciate that those of us in the Bureau who are concerned with 

 programs to help the tuna industry must, of necessity, obtain an understanding of the 

 industry's problems. This I have tried to do in every way possible. 



PROCESSING PROBLEMS 



The canned tuna industry is in com- 

 petition with other segments of the food 

 industry which are continually improving 

 their products. Concurrent improvement in 

 existing tuna products must keep pace in 

 order that canned tuna may continue in a 

 competitive position. Such improvement as 

 development of various flavor additives 

 and the inclusion of color stabilizers to 

 insure uniform color should be included. 

 The use of additives for such purposes is 

 going to be considerably more difficult 

 in the future because of the recent pas- 

 sage of the new Food and Drug Law. This 

 law will require considerable additional 

 research on the safety of any new addi- 

 tives which may be considered in the future 

 for improving a product. 



Development of New Products 



New types of tuna products must be 

 considered by the industry for introduc- 

 tion as market demands warrant. While 

 many of the so-called speciality products 

 never develop into large volume items, 

 occasionally such a product may become of 

 importance and efforts to develop new 

 products should not be relaxed. This is 

 especially true in the field of frozen 



1/ Laboratory Director, Bureau of Com- 

 mercial Fisheries Technological 

 Laboratory, Seattle, Washington. 



tuna products. Frozen foods are continuing 

 to expand and fruits and vegetables are 

 taking an ever-increasing proportion of the 

 total production. With tuna, except for 

 frozen tuna pie production, no extensive 

 developments have yet taken place. Devel- 

 opment of new and different frozen tuna 

 products might well result in opening im- 

 portant new outlets. 



Quality 



Many problems of the tuna processing 

 industry relate to the maintenance of qual- 

 ity, and some of these pertain to the need 

 to meet specifications of one sort or 

 another. Most tuna canners have brand 

 specifications, and it is a problem to get 

 as high a proportion of the pack under top 

 brand labels as feasible. The Food and 

 Drug specifications have added problems 

 especially with respect to maintenance of 

 fill of container. Often there are ad- 

 ditional requirements laid down by state 

 and local agencies which have to be met. 

 These include, for example, requirements 

 as to freshness of raw material, and meet- 

 ing requirements for adequate processing 

 time such as is specified by the State of 

 California. Still another type of speci- 

 fication sometimes encountered is that 

 required by Federal agencies for purchase 

 of canned tuna for Government use. 



Finally, there may be specifications 

 to be met for special types of packs. The 

 dietetic pack is such an example. Here 



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