In addition to the canning of a niimlDer of types of tuna products in the 

 early days of the industry, various types of cans and can sizes were experi- 

 mented with to determine the size and shape of container most suited to the 

 packing of these fish. Sizes used included a No., ^ can; No. g- and Nc. 1 

 round, tall, and oval cans; and No. 4 t>ill cansr« The No„ •§ round can soon 

 ■became and remains the principal tuna can. In 1920, a change was made in 

 the size of the No. ^ tuna can in which the major portion cf the pack had 

 been cajined to that date. The height of the can was changed from 2 inches 

 to 1 13/16 inches to permit the production of a tighter pack. The diameter 

 and net contents remained the same„ 



In the early days of the industry, only solid pack txwa. was canned. 

 However, within a few years, the packing of "broken pieces was started. 

 Canning of flake tuna, as the product was known, remained a minor portion 

 of the prod^iction, and as late aa 1938 it accounted for orJLy 7 percent of 

 the anmxal pack. Until that year, only small broken pieces of GUtia had been 

 canned in the flake pack. However, in 1939 the grating of whole loins of 

 tuna was began, in order to pack what became known as grated tuna. In some 

 instajices, the meat was grabed into relatively small pieces. However, in 

 other instancee, the small pieces were interspersed with larger chunks. This 

 pack was especially gu.ited to the preparation of tuna saJ,ads„ In the first 

 year that this style was canned, the portion of chunk, flake and grated pack 

 increased to 12 percent of the total production. By 19^5» nearly ^2 percent 

 of the tuna canned consisted of chunk, flake and grated pack, and in 1952, 

 45 percent of the total pack consisted of chunlc pack and 20 percent flake emd 

 grated. 



While atteanpts have been made to pack a large variety of ti^Jia products 

 besides the regular solid, chunk, flake and grated packs in oil, these items 

 account for a very high percentage of the total production. Specialty tuna 

 products which are regularly canned, Include a "tonno" pack which consists 

 of solid-meat tuna, packed in a special type of can wltli olive oil and about 

 double the quantity of salt used for the reg\ilar pack, Bluefin and skipjack 

 are the preferred species for the tonne pack, since a more pronoxaioed flavor 

 is desired. For a number of years a dietetic pack, without added salt, has 

 been canned as well as baby food. Small packs of tuna paste have been pre- 

 pared, and recently a pack 01" tuna and noodles has appeared or. the market. 

 Other packs which have been produ'^ed in limit«d quantities include deviled 

 txina emd a combination tuna and string bean pack "tonno style". Efforts 

 have been made to market a xuna frankf-'xcter, but canning of this product 

 has been discontinued. 



2] Commonly referred to as the "^t- pound can" biat designated as No, 4 tall 

 can or No. 4 can in this report for convenience, 



32 



