Comparison of the Quality of Japanese and 

 American Canned Tuna 



Japanese cannery costs for labor and for purchase of tuna are 

 lower than is the case in the United States^ This has resulted 

 in certain differences in cannery methods which have a bearing on 

 the quality of the canned tuna. Since the cost of fish is of less 

 importance to Japanese than to American processors, the Japanese 

 processors are probably not so careful to keep the precooking time 

 to a minimum as are the American processors^ As a result most 

 Japanese tuna apparently is precooked longer than is American tuna, 

 and in fact, much of the Japanese tuna seems to be given what in 

 this country would be considered an overcook. 



The tuna canning process employed in Japan yields a product hav- 

 ing a higher protein content than the American product due to the 

 longer precook mentioned abDve„ The protein content of the Japanese 

 pack rarely falls below 28 percent whereas that of the American pack 

 lies between 25 and 28 percent. 



The oil content of all samples of Japanese-packed tuna examined 

 was relatively low. In the oil -packed samples of albacore the oil 

 content of the drained fish ranged from 3.2 to 7»0 percent. Japanese 

 brine packs were of even lower oil contait (often as low as 2 percent 

 or less) because the natural oil presoit in such fish is not supple- 

 mented by any added vegetable oil. Owing to the higher protein and 

 lower oil content, the Japanese tuna has a somewhat more solid texture 

 than the American pack„ 



The flavor of imported tuna is usually more flat and tasteless 

 than that of the American fish. Possibly this is due to a longer 

 precook having volatilized a portion of the natural flavoring compon- 

 ents in the imported canned fish. Also, some foreign packers tend 

 to use less salt than is conmon with American tuna canners, and this 

 may account for a part of the difference. Another explanation is that 

 a number of American tuna canners use monosodium glutamate which brings 

 out the flavor of the tuna. Still another explanation and one which 

 has been advanced by some members of the American tuna industry is that 

 the imported fish may have been stored in the frozen state for long 

 periods of time which may lead to a loss of flavor. 



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