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Nagging Question
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What Is Chunk Light Tuna?It’s not a species that sounds familiar |
Most simply, light tuna is tuna that isn’t white. “White tuna” has an official definition: It’s albacore (which tastes mild and feels firm), and it scores high on a color test. Tuna labeled “light” is pretty much everything else.
Light tuna is primarily made up of a species called skipjack, says Gavin Gibbons, a spokesperson for the National Fisheries Institute, but it can include others such as bigeye, yellowfin, and tongol, in “any combination,” says Stephanie Danner, the fisheries research manager at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
As for the “chunk” part, it means that the tuna in the can will be in smaller pieces that vary in size, as opposed to “solid” tuna, which is in larger, firmer pieces with fewer flakes.
The FDA’s color test is called the Munsell value. According to FDA regulations, tuna labeled “light” cannot be darker than a Munsell value of 5.3. White tuna cannot be darker than a Munsell value of 6.3. The FDA also has official definitions of the terms chunk and solid: They’re measured by the way the pieces fit through a mesh screen, and the percentage of allowable flake. Light and white tuna have similar nutritional profiles, but white has slightly more fat and calories.
There’s one more important distinction, but it has nothing to do with FDA definitions. White tuna has more mercury than light tuna. StarKist notes in its FAQ that “FDA testing has shown that canned light meat tuna has an average of 0.1 parts per million (ppm) and that Albacore (white meat) tuna has an average of 0.35 ppm.” The reason is that albacore are larger, older fish than the types used for light tuna, so they’ve had more time to accumulate methylmercury.
Nevertheless, the lower-in-mercury light tuna is less expensive than the white tuna, probably because people prefer white.
I actually prefer light tuna - it makes for nicer sandwiches and the meat is less dry than white/ albacore tuna. I think it was more flavor too. And of course I like the less expensive price tag!
The extra mercury in the white tuna gives it a zip that light tuna is lacking. The kids really prefer it.
I prefer the light tuna. I find the white is bland.
I opened a can of BumbleBee white albacore in water, and my cat didn't even blink in my direction. A can of Chicken of the Sea light in water, and I've got instant purring fur anklets. Usually I don't base my food choices on what a pet eats, but a cat who can't be bothered to move for tuna....that can't be very tasty tuna.
im wondering if i remember a story on can tuna being cooked for a couple of hours and the packaged types cooked for only a few miniutes? could this explain why ive preferd the packaged ones since theyarrived.i thought they were less like my cat food wich is very close to most can types of tuna ive had ?
I find that oil packed tuna from Italy has the most flavor. I agree on light tuna as a good alternative. The minimal calories from oil packing are worth it.
Thanks for the info! I think if I had seen light tuna on a label, I would have assumed it to be "lite" as in lower fat. Not sure if they even sell it here in México, it all seems to be albacore, but I will look more carefully. For salads, I usually get the Spanish tuna in olive oil, which is pretty good and widely available, but a little pricey. Never see Italian here. It is true that the albacore doesn't have much flavor. And isn't anyone else distressed that "chunk" tuna in cans doesn't have chunks anymore? You have to buy "solid" just to get chunks!
MazDee, Hi, yes, I have been VERY distressed at the variety of what you will find when you open that can. One day I got 6 cans of a brand name white, chunk tuna. Half were chunk, half were all flake, many were dark. Since that time, I have bought the "giant" can of albacore at Sam's and rolled it into big cigar sized baggies and froze. Keeps well, basically a dollar a can pricewise, and if it is not chunk, I can return it. Works for me!