Tuna packaging makes a difference

By MARY A. KEITH | Special correspondent
Published: November 17, 2010

Even children may have up to 12 ounces of light tuna per week; adults can have 12 ounces for each 100 pounds of body weight, and still be within safe limits. Plus, tuna and other seafood have plenty of selenium to protect us from the mercury. So we're better off eating it than not.

As for can versus pouch, metal cans are lined with a plastic sheet to keep the food from reacting with the metal. That plastic has BPA, which seems to be likely to cause problems. The plastics and foil used in the flexible pouches don't use BPA, so we're better off with the pouch.

Finally, since the pouches are vacuum sealed, there is less additional water or oil in them than in a can. That means that there is less added salt (sodium) in a pouch. And there's less leaching of vitamins, minerals and omega-3 fats out of the fish and into the liquid in a pouch.

What you get in a pouch is closer to what Mother Nature put into the fish than in a can. Pouches are easier to carry and easier to open than cans, an added benefit in hurricane season. If you like tuna, eat whatever form is easiest for you to manage.

Mary A. Keith, a licensed dietitian and health agent at Hillsborough County Extension, can be reached at mkeith@ufl.edu.

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Tuna packaging makes a difference

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