It is reported that the sample lot of canned albacore packed from 

 the frozen, canned (unsealed) precooked product compared favorably in 

 quality with canned tuna packed from imported frozen raw Japanese 

 albacore. 



There are indications that this product when entered as an import 

 into the United States is dutiable at a rate of 12^ percent ad valorem. 



If ccanmercial scale tests prove that the operation is feasible it 

 could have a drastic effect on the domestic tuna canning industry. 

 Practically all of the plant labor now employed in "buna canning opera- 

 tions up to the point of adding oil and salt to cans of tuna meat could 

 be eliminated. Furthermore, neither the skilled labor nor the specialized 

 equipment which is required in a modern tuna canning plant would be needed. 

 It is ffonxreivable that any food cannery could receive the frozen, canned, 

 (unsealed) precooked tuna from Japan and complete the canning operation 

 with its present equipment and labor. 



It is possible that this entire method of producing canned tuna 

 may be covered by United States patent 2,110,801, Method of Canning Tuna, 

 Clams, and Oysters, dated March 8, 1938. 



BYPRODUCTS OF TUNA CANNING 



At least 50 percent of the wei^t of the whole tuna, as landed, is 

 not canned. However, all of the so-called "waste" material is not a 

 direct loss to the plants, for much of it is used to produce byproducts 

 of some value, such as liver oils, solubles, liquid fertilizer, tuna 

 oil and meal. 



Liver Oil 



During the dressing otc butchering operation the thawed tuna are 

 slit and the viscera removed. In some plants, which manufacture liver 

 oil, the operation is carried one step further by separating the livers 

 from the viscera. The livers are then processed to extract the oil. 



Tuna liver oil, once a valuable byproduct because of its high 

 vitamin D content, has declined in both value and producticai during 

 recent years. Synthetic vitamins and increased imports of natural 

 vitamin oil have caused the decline. 



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