By Atuna
24 Tuna Brands Tested Also On Quality
German Consumers do not find enough information on the labels of canned tuna and tuna in glass about the sustainability of the product that they want to buy in the supermarket. That is one of the conclusions of a special investigation published by the influential German consumer Organisation Öko on the quality of the content of tuna products and their labelling.
After testing the content of 24 tuna brands in cans and glass Öko states that, in most cases, from the information on the label it was not clear whether the canned tuna was fished in a sustainable way. Only a few of the labels indicated whether a sustainable fishing gear was used, which is considered by Öko a minimal requirement for good consumer information.
Also the data regarding the region where the fish was caught did not prove very satisfactory. The sea areas mentioned, sometimes more than one, have superficies ‘big as continents’ which made the information quite useless, Öko states. Information on fishing methods like the use of purse seine and FAD’s was in most cases unavailable. Only Vier Diamante Thunfisch Naturell and Pan do Mar Thunfisch Naturell where found to have complete information about the sustainable catch of the content.
Öko also discovered that the weight indications on the labels did not always prove to be correct. In the case of La Comtesse (tuna pieces in water) the can contained only 140 gram instead of the 150 gram net weight indicated.
Armada Thunfisch Filets, Geisha Thunfisch Filets and K-Classic Thunfisch Filets were tested as the best on tuna content and information, for the lowest price (0,46-0,66 euro per 100 gram tuna net weight). The brands resulting worst in the test were Calippo, La Comtesse and Rio Mare, which were also among the most expensive (1,66-3,46 euro per 100 gram tuna net weight).
In its test, Öko also investigated supposedly dangerous levels of mercury in tuna. According to Öko, the maximum legal limits of mercury and, more specific, the methyl-mercury in canned tuna sold on the German market is set far too high. Öko advocates that the general maximum limit of mercury should be lowered significantly to levels which are considered save for pregnant women and their foetus. It also advocates to put a special warning on the can labels that consumption of tuna is not recommended for pregnant women. The consumer organisation did not investigate the levels of selenium. According to scientists, selenium -also abundant in canned tuna- actually helps remove mercury from the body.