OIL IN ■>€ MACHINE-PACKED TUNA BROUGHT A30LfT BY A DISTORTION OF THE MUSCLE FIBERS 

 OF TV£ FiSK IN TKt PACK lf*3 MACHINE WHICH IN TURN RESULTS IfJ A GREATER CAPACITY OF 

 THE FUESH TO ABSORB OJ'-o THIS GREATER ABSORPTION OF OIL, IN SOME CASES, LEAVES 

 INSUFFICIENT OC- AT THE SURFACE MD MAY CONTRIBUTE TC SCORCHING DURING RETORTING. 



The DRAINED FISH FROM OIL PACKS HAVE A MUCH HIGHER 01.. CONTENT "HAN DOES THAT 

 FROM BRINE PACKS, THIS 0IF?-EP3>*:E MAKES FOR A DIFFERENCE IN TEXTURE, WITH MOST 

 CONSUMERS PREFERRING THE TEXTURE OF THE Olu PACK. THE TEXTURE DirrEKEN:E IS NOT 

 SO HJUCH ONE Or DIFFERING VErOERNESS OR TOUGHNESS AS IT IS OF DrFERUJG DEGREES OF 

 OILINESS AhlCH SHCW UP QUITE HARKEOLY IN COMPARATIVE TASTE TESTS, THE "ESTS CAR- 

 RIED O-J? THUS FAR IfCilCATE THAT THE BRINE PACK USUALLY IS, |N ADDITION, A LITTLE 

 TOUGHER THAN THE OJL PACK ESPECIALLY ATTER THE PACK HAS STOOD IN THE CAN FOR SEV- 

 ERAL MONTHS. Both oil AfC brine packs develop SOME T0UGHNE3S DURING THE FIRST 



few months of storage after processinqo a state o." equil13ril*! seems to develop 

 after about six months of such storage, whereupon l.'ttle further change occurs. 



Japanese canned tunAj being mostly hand packed ,, has a soucwhat smoother sur- 

 face THAN THE AVERtCAN MACHINE PACK, THE JAPANESE PACK SEEMS ALSO TO HAVE BEEN 

 3JVEN A LONGER PRECOOK THAN IS CUSTOMARY/ WJTH THE AMERICAN PACK, WHICH RESULTS IN 

 T^€J7^PA^ESE PACK HAVING A SOMEWHAT HIGHER PROTEIN CONTENT THAN THE DOMESTIC PACK, 

 HCWE^-ER, MOST OF THE CANNED TUNa IMPORTED FROM JAPAN IS NOW PUT UP SN BRINE. AND 

 SUCH FtSH HAVE A MUCH LOWER OIL CONSENT (aS LITTLE AS 2 PERCENT OIL OR LESS) THAN 



the american oil packs (which usually have from 10 to 20 percent oil). such jap- 

 anese brine-packed tuna is also of a somewhat tougher texture. 



Furthermore, the jmpcrted canned tuna usually has a flat, sokctimfs almost 

 tasteless rlavor as co vipareo to the domestic product, this may be due to a vari- 

 ety f.f causes, incluo^ro possible loss of flavor constituents either -itrouqh 

 holding the frozen fish for too long a period of t i me or by overcooking it at thc 

 precook stage. this loss in flavor 13 sometimes quite noticeable. 



The STATE OF CALVORNIA has EXTENSIVE REGULATIONS CONCERNING FRESHNESS OF 



r«v tuna tmo adequate pfiocessinq kcthoos in preparing the canned product. the 

 industry is well satisfied with existin9 regulations fho believes that they main- 

 tain the qualfn* of tuna at a high level. 



TVr Unitho States ^ooo and Drug Administration will be bringing ou" new 

 sta^c•aros for canned tuna within the next year or 30. heirinqs are still in 

 progress concerning certain contftoversi al aspects of the standards, particular- 

 ly with respect to fill of contai.mer. 



For MOST CANNED FOOD PROOLCTS, THE All(C>-JNT OF FOOD MATER Irt. PLACED INTO 

 THd CAN ("Fl-.l-nJ" WEIGH,') CAN BE ESTIMATED BY DTTERMINING THE "DRAINED WEIGHT" 

 OF THE CANNED PftOOUCT. !N THt: CASE Of" THE CANNED TUNA, HOWEVER, THE FISH AB- 

 SORBS VARVIN3 AMOU^^rS OF TH£ AOOED OtL DEPENDING ON THE TY^E OF PACK. THE 

 r«CH(NE-PACKED TUNA ABSORBS l«3RE OF THE 01^ A^D THUS GIVES A HICHER DRAJMEO 

 VfflGHT TTAN THE HATC-PACKED FISH. BECAUSE THE OIL IS NOT COMPLETELY REMOVED 

 WHEN "DRAINED WEIGHT* IS DETERMINED, THE NcW TUNA STANDARDS Wl .L NOT BE BASED, 

 AS IS COMMON V/l'iH OTHER FOOOS, ON "DRAINED WEIGK""; SOME OTHER CRITERIA WILL 



BE USED. Under consideration is a methcc of wcasuring the contents based on 



"PRESS y/GIGH!*, TVE contents »■ A CAM WOU.D BE SUBJECT TO A STIPULATED PRES- 

 SURE in a special PRESS, THC EXPRESSED LIQUID SEPARATED, A^O THE AMOUNT OF PRESS 

 CAKE (sot.103) Dri"ERK;lNED. STtBKA-ATED "PRESS V/EIGhT" REQUIREMENTS WOULD HAVE TO 



Bc Mr; a-' each type of pack such as soli", CHUhK, flake, and packed with oil 



0?t BRI.*i, 



282 



