587598 Tue Jan 13 13:42:15 -0800 2009 69 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 4323056 When I was a kid until my early 20s, I ate canned tuna fish frequently, whether it was Starkist, Bumble Bee, Chicken of the Sea, Progresso, etc. But I really haven't eaten canned tuna very often since then. A few days ago, I picked up a couple of cans of Bumble Bee tuna -- one can of solid white albacore in water and one can of prime filet solid albacore white in water. The prime filet was over a dollar more than the regular solid white. I paid over $3 for the prime filet and over $2 for the solid white albacore. When I opened up the the solid white albacore, it kind of looked like the chunk light (you know, the cheaper variety). There might have been a couple of chunks, but it was mostly shredded and mushy. Then I opened up the prime filet, thinking it would be more like the expensive jarred Italian ones. But I was surprised to see that the prime filet was exactly how I remembered the regular solid white albacore was years ago. So it seems that quality has gone down over the years where the old solid white albacore is on par with the prime filet and the new solid white albacore is more similar to the old chunk light. I'm wondering what the new chunk light is like now. Tue Jan 13 13:42:15 -0800 2009 10763 Miss Needle 1 4323132 Somewhere along the line, years ago, I gleaned that Bumble Bee was not considered a good-quality tuna, which kind of fit in with the old Star Kist commercials. Remember? "Sorry, Charlie, not all tunas are good enough to be Star Kist" or something like that. Also, I remember buying, not too many years ago, very cheap cans of Bumble Bee, which I picked up for the occasions my dog was feeling poorly. And it looked very chopped up to me. (The dog ate it, however.) Just some anecdotal evidence to confirm your findings. But was Bumble Bee ever considered good? Tue Jan 13 14:01:50 -0800 2009 4323056 56467 Angela Roberta 2 4323151 I don't think Bumble Bee was ever considered a premium or decent tuna. But I was a bit surprised to see that quality has deteriorated even further. Tue Jan 13 14:06:52 -0800 2009 4323132 10763 Miss Needle 2 4657643 Back in the 80's, Cook's Illustrated rated water packed Bumble Bee tops over other leading supermarket brands. Until recently, it was the canned tuna I used for those kinds of things that canned tuna are useful for. These days however, I've found that I don't like BB, especially the Prime Filet. It seems very dry to me. Tue May 05 18:46:21 -0700 2009 4323132 22801 bkhuna 1 4323194 I had a similar reaction as you. I don't consume canned tuna often anymore, but I recently bought the Bumble Bee solid white in water, which is the tuna that I grew up with. I was surprised that it seemed much more like chunk light, both in texture and color. That's fine, but I won't buy it again, since I can get the equivalent by another brand for cheaper. When it happened, I thought that perhaps I wasn't remembering the tuna of my youth correctly. Glad to see you had a similar impression. Tue Jan 13 14:18:34 -0800 2009 4323056 186923 Cachetes 1 4323355 I purchase regular BB solid in H2O at Costco for about $1. per can. I've compared it to Chicken of the Sea, 3 diamonds and Starkist over the years and find it to be better than all of those. I like imported Italian in olive oil for an occasional upgrade. Tue Jan 13 15:05:14 -0800 2009 4323056 149836 cstr 1 4323808 Hi Miss Needle, Like you, I have had a long time of not eating canned tuna since my childhood until recently. I never like tuna in water so I only buy tuna in olive oil. What I found from my recent purchases is that the tuna that is of Wild Yellowfin tasted a lot better than the other kinds. Of course the jarred Italian imports are great stuff, but they are also expensive (which makes me want to buy the real yellowfin and not the canned ones ;P) I found some pretty good ones at TJ, and very cheap (only $2!) Tue Jan 13 17:48:17 -0800 2009 4323056 54254 kobetobiko 1 4323898 I think every brand of canned tuna has been "squeezed" to a lower quality because of price pressures. Tue Jan 13 18:19:02 -0800 2009 4323056 14479 wayne keyser 1 4323929 Wow, are you ever right! Just opened a can of white albacore/water to make tuna salad (dill or sweet relish?) for sandwiches -- so pink (def non-white), so shredded, and such a dainty amount (5 oz instead of 6), so maybe one sandwich. Taste test is tomorrow. Tue Jan 13 18:32:16 -0800 2009 4323056 10877 Sarah 1 4324003 Not to gross anyone out, as if I care, but I eat a can of Starkist chunk light in water everyday for my mid-morning snack. A little high in sodium, but 32% daily protein, one gram of fat, plus omega 3 all in a 3.3 ounce can. I wash it down with a small carton of orange juice. It blows the minds of my co-workers who are slamming down their McDonald's and coke. Tue Jan 13 19:00:06 -0800 2009 4323056 198541 James Cristinian 2 4325352 I also buy BB tuna at Costco, and have always been happpy with it. I grew up on BB but it has to be the solid in water and always felt it was the premium tuna, I can't even eat starkist. Oh and not to start another thread but you have to use hellmans when making tuna salad, nothing else except maybe adding some pretzel sticks. for crunch. Wed Jan 14 08:59:28 -0800 2009 4324003 102263 jscott65 3 4498098 Kirkland tuna at Costco is our favorite. It's quality has been better than the "regular" brands for several years now. And cheaper. Thu Mar 12 10:50:53 -0700 2009 4325352 249859 Oneiron 2 4646472 I don't want to freak you out, but you should get your mercury levels checked asap. Tuna is ridiculously high in Hg and women who are pregnant are generally told never to eat it. There's actually a school of thought that women who intend to one day be pregnant should also stay away - regardless of how far in the future that may be. Fri May 01 13:49:48 -0700 2009 4324003 278425 bolivar13 3 4657552 If you don't want to freak anybody out, you might want to (a) get your facts right and (b) resist the urge to give medical advice. Especially when that advice is flatly contrary to public health recommendations. First off, light tuna is relatively low in mercury. But it still has some, so the feds suggest that women who are pregnant or might become pregnant, nursing mothers, and small children limit their intake to 12 ounces per week. http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/fish/advice/ Given James's name, I doubt that he's pregnant or nursing. And given his vocabulary, it seems unlikely he's a small child. So a pound or so of light tuna a week is no problem whatsoever. Tue May 05 18:14:46 -0700 2009 4646472 58743 alanbarnes 4 4666763 Well, I wasn't basing my comments on the gov't recommendations. I tend not to listen to them on issues where large wealthy groups have a vested interest in the public still buying/using/etc... their product. According to this article: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2008/09/why-mercury-tuna-still-legal the FDA's categories that they use for recommendations were specifically crafted so that chunk light tuna would be in the lowest one. Chunk light is generally thought to be lower in mercury than other varieties, but that's variable and relative. As chunk light tuna isn't a particular variety of tuna, yellowfin is sometimes among the varieties combined in the can and it typically has mercury levels comparable to albacore. I'm not trying to start a flame war here - I'm just pointing out that the gov't recommendations are not impartial and that eating a lot of tuna can be seriously hazardous to your health. Obviously James is in less danger than a child but less is not none. Remember Jeremy Piven's mercury poisoning? He was eating sushi, not light canned tuna, but my point is that adults too are at risk from heavy metals poisoning. And all that isn't even saying anything about the over fishing of tuna. Fri May 08 12:42:19 -0700 2009 4657552 278425 bolivar13 5 4666971 First off, there are legitimate questions as to (a) whether Jeremy Piven actually had mercury poisoning and (b) whether it had anything to do with fish intake. The jury's still out on that one, so it's probably a bad example. Second, Mother Jones is right up there with the National Review in terms of being an authoritative source for scientific information. They're written by and for people with political agendas. Finally, the only thing the FDA did in terms of "crafting" categories was to distinguish between light tuna (which is generally low in mercury) and albacore (which is generally quite high). Given that the fish is packaged and sold using that distinction, it doesn't sound like much of a military-industrial conspiracy to me. If you're really interested in the issue, there's a pretty accessible review of the current state of the scientistific research (as opposed to the claims of clueless alarmists and willfully ignorant industry nay-sayers). Rasmussen et al., A review of mercury in seafood: special focus on tuna (2005) 14(4) J Aqua Food Prod Tech 71–100. If you don't have access to academic journals, you can view it here: http://www.heads-up.net/csi/Hg_Review_080905.pdf Fri May 08 13:34:17 -0700 2009 4666763 58743 alanbarnes 4 4832449 I have always ate canned tuna, bumble bee usually. I can eat just a little relish and just a little mayo and some crackers and lunch. And I was never told to stay away from it when pregnent, not sure now a days what the rule is, but my friend is pregnent and she eats tuna ever time we go out for lunch. I was always under the impression that the light was fairly low in mercury. I could be wrong. I eat 1-2 cans per week at times and always have. Mon Jul 06 04:58:39 -0700 2009 4657552 232829 kchurchill5 1 4496046 I'm not buying any more Bumble Bee tuna. Yesterday I opened a can labeled "Chunk White Albacore in water." It wasn't 'chunk', it was mush, a sort of grey-tan mush. Then I read the ingredients, which include tuna, water, vegetable broth, pyrophosphate, and soy. I like soy. I eat a lot in my diet. But I don't want it snuck into the tuna. When I buy tuna I want only tuna. I have a friend at the coast who buys tuna fresh and puts it up, in glass jars. I think I'll have to learn the process. More and more it seems you can trust the food processors less and less. Wed Mar 11 17:40:19 -0700 2009 4323056 273691 billyboy9 2 4496426 Is it snuck in if it's on the label? Wed Mar 11 19:48:38 -0700 2009 4496046 80141 ccbweb 3 4498971 Yes it's "snuck" in because they know most people don't read the ingredients on the label. BTW Hello Billyboy9 :-) Thu Mar 12 14:15:58 -0700 2009 4496426 251167 billieboy 2 4504620 The idea that they'd sneak soy into the can to cut costs seems pretty outrageous to me, so I had a look at the tuna in the pantry... Cheap Aldi house brand white albacore in cans, and Starkist chunk light and albacore in the foilpacks. Ingredients on ALL of them are the same as yours - tuna, water, veg. broth, pyrophosphate... After the ingredients list, the Starkist packs say "CONTAINS: TUNA, SOY" (I assume that's an allergy listing type of thing). The Aldi tuna cans say "veg. broth (contains soy)". Not sure about Bumble Bee, but it looks like in these the soy is the basis for the veg. broth, and not being thrown in as a "cut" to stretch the tuna... If that is the case though, then that's pretty sneaky.... I mean, why should you need to read the ingredient list on a can of tuna? Additives like HFCS, MSG, and all kinds of other crap aren't sneaky and wouldn't surprise me, but sneaking soy in for tuna would be totally wrong! That would be like Land-o-Lakes selling butter and throwing in a little margarine. Sat Mar 14 12:08:17 -0700 2009 4496046 10705 deibu 3 4645040 Soy (veg, broth) is added tio get better "drain weights" in the products...which means more water is retained by the mushy tuna and water is cheaper compared to tuna....you can thank your elected representatives for allowing the tuna packers to sell you more water... Fri May 01 07:27:02 -0700 2009 4504620 19117 Pollo 2 4505073 The soy is listed as a part of the allergen information. According to their website, the vegetable broth has some soy in it. They've not replaced tuna with soy protein. It's all right there on the label to be read. You don't have to trust, you can read. Sat Mar 14 15:15:24 -0700 2009 4496046 80141 ccbweb 1 4496134 Yep...not buying it anymore...it SEEMS to me anyway that when Bumble Bee went from 6 1/2 ounce can down to 5 ounce can, the quality also went down. Forget it...Whole Foods store brand 365 still packs 6 ounces of what appears to be solid white tuna. Wed Mar 11 18:09:45 -0700 2009 4323056 11983 Val 2 4504667 I recently picked up a 10 pack at Costco, 6 oz. cans., same size as always. If you really want superior tuna try Italian TONNO packed in Olive Oil, I like the glass jars the best. Sat Mar 14 12:33:00 -0700 2009 4496134 149836 cstr 3 4504723 Thanks, cstr...I might try it! Packed in water is usually fine with me and I do seek out lower- or no-sodium everything these days, but will have to look into the Italian style. I think I've bought it before but I used in the great CHOW recipe for tuna casserole...I've never used it for making tuna salad. Sat Mar 14 12:55:42 -0700 2009 4504667 11983 Val 3 4645032 TONNO is not Italian..read the labes...it's packed by Chicken of the Sea..... Fri May 01 07:24:40 -0700 2009 4504667 19117 Pollo 4 4657743 although it's not solid tuna, I love sardinar tuna.... It's packed in a flavorful oil with carrots and other veg, and It's def solid white tuna..... so I tastes great, is great quality, and has veg added in for way cheaper... Tue May 05 19:14:51 -0700 2009 4645032 264146 kubasd 1 4498915 I have to agree about this, but it also seems to be a fairly recent phenomenon. The first time I encountered the more "shreaded" tuna, I thought that maybe it had been hanging around the pantry too long. We buy the large cans at Costco, and I was disappointed that the next batch was equally watery and undistinguished. I always felt that Bumble Bee was the premium brand, but I may have to try Kirkland the next time I am at Costco. Thu Mar 12 14:05:11 -0700 2009 4323056 34558 roxlet 1 4499060 Domnestic Tuna brands have ceklarly downgraded the tuna they put in the cans I only use tuna form Italian importers or small Canadian hand packed companies NOW that is the kind the canned tuna I remember when I was a kid - - firm - and clean tasting!!! BB and others have altered their "grades" and it is not the same Thu Mar 12 14:37:49 -0700 2009 4323056 48025 few 1 4499096 I think they all have. Generally, I've always used Star-Kist, but on occasion, have picked up a can of Chicken of the Sea. Several years ago, on advice from a friend, I bought a can of Bumble Bee. I found that it actually tasted better than the higher priced varieties, but unfortunately, I seem to remember there was only about a tablespoon of actual tuna in the can - the rest being water. Now, since SK has begun to do the vacuum packaging, their canned tuna is primarily water as well. If this isn't bad enough, the "product" inside tastes nothing like tuna. Same for CotS. Weird. As for the packaged stuff - I don't care for it even a little bit. The "tuna chunks" are hard - a very strange consistency for fish. So unfortunately, as much as I enjoy a good tuna sandwich, I've pretty much quit buying it - a least in the pkgs/cans. Agreeing with someone else on this thread, I've heard that there are somewhat reasonably priced cans of yellowfin tuna (aka ahi) that are very good, but I haven't seen them on the shelves of my usual Albertson's haunt. Thu Mar 12 14:49:48 -0700 2009 4323056 216999 CocoaNut 1 4504648 The last time I bought a can of BB tuna, I bought the package of 8 cans from Sam's Club for a tuna salad sandwich platter I was making. I was so disgusted when I opened them and found a can of squishy, flakes and almost no solid chunks anywhere. To add insult to that, I found several hard SCALES in the tuna, I just threw them away and bought a nice tuna steak, broiled it, cooled it down and made it that way. It was much better. I will never buy another can of tuna again. Finding several scales was it for me. Sat Mar 14 12:23:27 -0700 2009 4323056 54116 gryphonskeeper 1 4504832 I hope that the soy is a seasoning for the vegetable broth and not an extender for the tuna. There is also the possibility of soybean oil. I'm not happy about the pyrophosphate (I believe a pH regulating preservative) which, among other things, could cause water retention in the flesh. There's an interesting NY Times article at: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D05E4D61E3DF935A3575BC0A961958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1 The article is from 1997, and quality has dropped even further since then. I'm in Canada and Clover Leaf, our major mainstream "quality" brand, is exactly as you describe. The "solid white" is not solid at all, though the manufacturer claims otherwise, and it is swimming in liquid (vegetable broth & soybean oil, which tastes better than plain water). Much of it is flaking in the can. My current supply from this flag waving "Canadian company" is canned in Thailand. They claim a "drained" weight of 120g in a 170g can, but this doesn't account for liquid trapped within the flesh. It recently cost $1.88 on sale. We have one premium brand, Raincoast Trading, that has created a great corporate image. Their albacore is line caught 50 miles off the Pacific coast, dolphin friendly and mercury free. It is cooked only once and contains no added water or oil - just sea salt. The 150g cans cost around $5.00, depending on the store, which is less expensive than it seems due to less waste, but hardly a cheap meal. Everything is right save one - the eating quality isn't all that good. When I'm making something where canned tuna is the star, I use an Italian brand in a jar, white ventresca processed with olive oil. I don't recall the brand, as only one is ever available (and it isn't available all the time). Enough to serve two costs about $14.00. I've heard great things about bonito del norte packed by Ortiz and Goya, but neither is available in Canada. As an aside, Starkist has interesting associations for many Canadians over forty. In a political scandal dubbed "Tunagate", Starkist was somehow able to dump their rejected product into the Canadian market. Their tuna, while not overtly unsafe to eat, was decomposing in the cans. (How they got away with this leads to interesting speculations not suitable for discussion on this board, but, see, we had this Prime Minister guy and ....) Starkist disappeared from the Canadian market shortly after, never to return. Sat Mar 14 13:45:19 -0700 2009 4323056 23411 embee 1 4505387 I buy and love the Kirkland Brand Solid White Tuna from Costco. It's packed in water and not broth. and in my experience has always been solid., not shredded. Some brands say packed in water but are actually packed in broth. And yes, I have noticed that other brands are shredded, wet mess. Sat Mar 14 17:34:04 -0700 2009 4323056 219682 Babyducks 1 4505416 I've noticed this too...started noticing it actually around 10 years or so ago. I remember when solid white tuna was just that...a more or less solid cross section kind of filet packed with just enough water or oil for processing. Now its loose, flaky, and waterlogged...BumbleBee, StarKist...all of them, in the new shrunken 5oz cans just to add insult to injury. I finally started to just buy the store brand of tuna from whatever store I happened to be in...here, it's Stob N SHop, ShopRite, A&P, etc. And much to my surprise, the store brand has proven to be superior in every way 90% of the time...nice solid filet and not totally soaked...and in a 6oz can to boot. I never buy the "name" brands anymore. Not worth it. Sat Mar 14 17:45:26 -0700 2009 4323056 116047 The Professor 1 4558865 I just bought some Costco tuna this week and it was great -- the tuna I remember. I recommend it! Wed Apr 01 15:33:51 -0700 2009 4323056 34558 roxlet 2 4559519 I'll second that! I opened Bumble Bee earlier this week and promptly threw it out as it looked horrid. It was mushy and it didn't look like water, instead it was more like a gravy. Yesterday bought the Kirkland brand at Costco and it was perfect, plus I got more out of the can. Won't go back to BB ever again. Wed Apr 01 19:07:48 -0700 2009 4558865 138943 grouper 3 4637242 I came to the same conclusion. I was a loyal BB customer and didn't think that there could be better. I always bought them at Costco since they always carried them. One day I went to my local supermarket and saw that they were selling BB solid white Albacore in a pink can. Something didn't look right, turned out it was smaller than what I was used to buying, 5oz. Did some Googling and saw that many people were unhappy with BB. They noticed what I have been noticing of late that BB solid while was anything than solid, but was some kind of mush. I just bought Kirkland tuna - what a difference! A nice solid cunk of tuna in the can, the way I remembered what tuna used to be like. Goodby Bumble Bee! Tue Apr 28 16:40:42 -0700 2009 4559519 16616 MartyB 4 4638630 Just had a thought mayebwe should all TWITTER the fish mush that is now in a BB can - I hear big companies have services that monitor twitter for comments on their products ! Wed Apr 29 08:09:10 -0700 2009 4637242 48025 few 4 4643767 I wish I had a kirklands in NH :( Thu Apr 30 16:52:02 -0700 2009 4637242 54116 gryphonskeeper 5 4643788 Do you have Whole Foods? Their 365 brand of solid white is really great, in my opinion...okay, $1.49 per can...but it's still 6 ounces!!! Thu Apr 30 16:59:21 -0700 2009 4643767 11983 Val 6 4644914 No I don't.... The closest one is over over 30 miles from me. Fri May 01 06:42:42 -0700 2009 4643788 54116 gryphonskeeper 5 4841631 Costco is in Nashua (Kirkland is their house brand). Wed Jul 08 19:02:41 -0700 2009 4643767 159317 greygarious 1 4567368 Oh gawd! I've got three cans of Bumble Bee Fancy Whole Baby Clams I was planning to use in a white sauce with pasta tomorrow. This was going to be a "knock out" meal. Wonder what I'll get when I open the cans? Sat Apr 04 11:06:43 -0700 2009 4323056 184517 RedTop 2 4567475 cat food. Sat Apr 04 11:56:15 -0700 2009 4567368 54116 gryphonskeeper 3 4567505 I'm glad I didn't have a mouthful of coffee or soda when I read your response, gryphonskeeper! Sat Apr 04 12:04:54 -0700 2009 4567475 184517 RedTop 1 4568426 Several years ago I noticed that the chunk tuna from the major brands looked shredded to me. I didn't like the flavor or the look. Like others in this thread I used Bumble Bee for years and I thought it was very good quality, but quit using albacore for tuna salad because I read it had more mercury. At any rate, I started buying Tongol Tuna. It is packed by Crown Prince, is wild caught, and the ingredients are listed as Tongol Tuna, spring water, sea salt. It tastes good to me. I think Tongol tuna is the species name(?). I found it initially in the health food aisle of my food market. It makes fine tuna salad as far as I'm concerned. Certainly better than what I was using. Sat Apr 04 20:59:14 -0700 2009 4323056 134265 sueatmo 1 4644967 I agree that BB hasn't tasted like firm, white, tuna in years and shrinking the can to 5 oz was the end for me. I like Progresso but will also try other brands and try to find firm, white, tuna, like what BB used to taste like. Fri May 01 07:00:29 -0700 2009 4323056 10310 efdee 1 4644981 I fired off a comment to Bumble Bee along with a link to this post. Don't know if I will get a response but at least I got this off my chest. http://www.bumblebee.com/Contact/?pg=intro Fri May 01 07:04:28 -0700 2009 4323056 16616 MartyB 2 4657381 Well, I got a letter from Bumble Bee explaining their position about some of the reasons why there are variations in color and texture of raw fish. Included were 3 coupons for free 5oz cans of tuna and two 25 cents off coupons as well. I am no fool and will use the three coupons for free 5oz tunas. Out of curiousity does Bumble Bee's prime filet solid albacore white come in 5 oz cans :) Tue May 05 17:15:47 -0700 2009 4644981 16616 MartyB 3 4832440 Well, I threw out the coupons since in small print it said that it excludes the prime filet solid albacore white. Unfortunately I still have a stock of their solid albacore to finish and really don't want to increase my stock, even for free. Mon Jul 06 04:48:02 -0700 2009 4657381 16616 MartyB 1 4656656 I OPENED A CAN OF BUMBLE BEE MUSHY BEIGE ALBACORE TUNA IN WATER WITH A BONE INCLUDED. It was suppose to be BB Chunk White Albacore Tuna in Water without bones. I will never buy Bumble Bee Tuna again. Tue May 05 13:10:57 -0700 2009 4323056 289769 dmmvdc 2 4657392 I weighed in above about this back in January, but I have to do it again. I had BB again today - my sister gave me an individual serving can. When I opened it up, there were huge globs of mushy, semi-gelatinous sludge on top. The taste was okay, but there was a high ick factor at first. Tue May 05 17:21:54 -0700 2009 4656656 186923 Cachetes 2 4657451 I found a bone in a can of Bumble Bee a few years ago, and wrote them a letter enclosing the bone. I mean, imagine if a child was eating it. I got some cents off coupons in response. I wasn't too happy. Tue May 05 17:47:03 -0700 2009 4656656 34558 roxlet 3 4657902 I don't think it's reasonable to expect that a bone won't show up in a can of tuna once in a while, just like how seeds occasionally show up in dried fruit. If anything, it's a reminder that you're eating something pretty natural. And I think a child is more likely to get killed sitting in a car than eating a can of tuna that has a bone in it. Tue May 05 20:17:26 -0700 2009 4657451 10832 Humbucker 1 4658050 I decided not to respond to any one post because the issue's seem to be all across the board and dealing with specific brands. I grew up on whatever brand of Tuna was cheapest for my parent's to buy. It wasn't until I left home at age 18 that I even had to think about brands (didn't matter anyway because cost was the factor). Albacore was not even available then. Funny thing is that I don't like fish at all, the milder the better, cod in batter and deep fried? I'm there if I can drown it in tartar sauce! BUT, I grew up eating smoked fish (trips to the U.P. of MI) and I still love a small dose of that. That and canned tuna are IMHO (and midwest tastebuds!) pretty damn strong fish flavors. I grew up from sprouthood on "chunk light in water" tuna, which is "very" fishy tasting and yet I don't mind it because it is familiar. About 5 years ago my Dad, after his heart attack, switched over to Albacore for health reasons. We did too, When we had a financial tight spot a bit over a year ago, I bought a can of "Chunk light in water" and realized why my tuna-salad had been lacking in flavor for so damn long! As a die-hard hater of fish, albacore is tasteless!!! Give me the strong-ass tuna I grew up with! Now to my real complaint, back in the day, when I bought a 6 oz. can of tuna (in water), it was mostly tuna. Now, it seems like the fish is so minced and there is so much water that you are lucky to end up with 3 oz. of fish after draining the can (with a whole lot of that "minced" fish going along with the water). I, not so long ago, used to get 3 tuna salad sandwiches out of one can of tuna. I guess that time is no more. :( I will still stick with my flavorful chunk light in water, but I will have to plan on two cans if I want lunch and a left-over sandwich! Ali Tue May 05 21:40:59 -0700 2009 4323056 282257 Alicat24 2 4658118 I totally agree with you about Albacore. I better not find out that the same Chowhounds who bemoan the popularity of boneless, skinless chicken breasts are also fans of canned "solid white packing product", because it's even more flavorless than the former. My current preferred everyday tuna is the yellowfin in oil from Trader Joe's. With a nice amount of fishy flavor and a price of $1.99 a can, it's a good compromise between the crummy "big 3" product and the expensive Spanish stuff. I wish canned, boneless mackerel was widely available. I bet that would make a really flavorful fish salad. Tue May 05 22:46:50 -0700 2009 4658050 10832 Humbucker 3 4658286 How many ozs are in Trader Joe's canned tuna? Wed May 06 04:07:04 -0700 2009 4658118 16616 MartyB 3 4658952 "solid white packing product" Oh my! That had me laughing, I'll have to remember that one! Unfortunately we are deprived of a TJ or WF ANYWHERE around our area. I'm pretty much stuck with the "big 3" or store brands. *sigh* Wed May 06 08:49:17 -0700 2009 4658118 282257 Alicat24 3 4666957 Haven't tried the TJ's but I buy Pastene light tuna in oil at $2.49 a can and it blows away anything produced by a major US packer. Solid white in water is cardboard by comparison. Fri May 08 13:30:20 -0700 2009 4658118 14386 BobB 4 4691551 In the short couple of weeks since this thread started, Progresso shrank the weight of its tuna cans to 5 oz also. Predictable and infuriating. Sun May 17 10:58:01 -0700 2009 4666957 10310 efdee 5 4692223 There's Progresso tuna??? Never knew that! Really, I don't think I've EVER seen that in any store! But I believe you! Sun May 17 16:15:20 -0700 2009 4691551 11983 Val 2 4698659 I never had Chunk Light Tuna only Solid Whie Albacore, thanks to your post I decided to try the Chunk Light Tuna. Costco was selling Chicken of the Sea, 7oz cans for a much better price than the Albacores. Guess what, I likes it better! So for me it is better and cheaper to boot! Thanks!! Tue May 19 17:01:56 -0700 2009 4658050 16616 MartyB 3 4703403 You're welcome! Glad to help a convert! MMM, after revisiting this thread, I do believe a tuna salad sandwich is in order for lunch. It'll shore me up with some protein before I tackle mowing the backyard. :) Thu May 21 08:37:34 -0700 2009 4698659 282257 Alicat24 4 4837293 I have to agree about light tuna vs white. The white is so bland; 'solid white packing product' is right. It doesn't even taste like fish. Tue Jul 07 14:03:59 -0700 2009 4703403 139219 Sooeygun 5 4848389 LOL, it's interesting how we all have such varied tastes. Some posters below compare some tuna's to cat food. I'm sure it really smells like it to them but I'll alway's love my "cat foody" tuna! Even though, as I have already complained, I lose half the "minced" fish down the drain with the water. Fri Jul 10 22:07:18 -0700 2009 4837293 282257 Alicat24 1 4815002 funny that i found this on the web because i grew up eating only solid white tuna. everything else was cat food to me. i haven't made tuna in a long time but last week thought, oh i'll whip up a nice tuna salad and make some rollups. i opened the can and had to check the can twice to see if my husband made a mistake and bought the chunk light. nope, solid white. i made it anyway, with all my usual fixings and it was disgusting!!!! cat food. i threw it all out. big wooooooof! never again. this weekend i was at a friend's house, she made chicken of the sea solid white and it was delicious. so i guess the answer is yes, the quality is awful. how sad. Mon Jun 29 09:51:07 -0700 2009 4323056 1089466 kbeejbee 1 4837612 I just bought the large can of chunk light tuna from Sams Club, thinking it MUST have chunks right? I mean the can was the size of a basket ball. Nope, it was 100% sludge inside. Gross! I WAS going to make tuna salad for a large party I was planning, but instead tossed it out and made a fresh batch of ham salad. Tue Jul 07 16:11:45 -0700 2009 4323056 54116 gryphonskeeper 1 4841650 Since there's so much water in canned tuna now, I press it through a sieve and freeze the liquid for when I'm making fish stock or chowder. I just recalled that some years back, canned tuna was either scarce, high-priced, or out of favor (maybe the dolphin thing?) and stores were selling canned Pilchard(s). As I recall, the cans were cheaper but the fish smelled rather cat foody. What ever became of pilchards? Wed Jul 08 19:08:58 -0700 2009 4323056 159317 greygarious 1 4842771 I haven't been on this site for a while, but I sure have been talking about the quality downslide of BB "solit white" tuna in water. I've switched to their foil packed salmon. And I absolutely refuse to eat Chicken of the Sea. That's cat food! Dealing with those cans is so messy because the tuna is shredded to a point that I can't get the water out without losing tons of the tuna as well. And white, it is not! I will have to check and see what brands they have at BJs. I don't have a costco nearby. Thu Jul 09 07:47:27 -0700 2009 4323056 63311 puppymomma