Tuna suppliers and the National Fisheries Institute are praising the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s proposed rule changing the industry-wide method of weighing tuna, which would amend both the standard fill of container and standard of identity for canned tuna products across the U.S.
The FDA action partially responds to a 2015 citizen petition submitted by Bumble Bee Foods, StarKist, and Tri-Union Seafoods (representing Chicken of the Sea International), shortly before major retailers across the U.S. accused the three canned tuna companies of price fixing. The petition asked the FDA to base the standard fill of container on the product’s drained weight rather than its pressed cake weight and require that the net contents declaration on each can include both net weight and drained weight measurements.
“The pressed cake weight test is an archaic test that is difficult to perform, prone to human error, and produces inconsistent results. It was designed for the old three-piece cans, not the two-piece cans that are the industry norm today,” the companies said in their joint petition.”
The U.S. is the only country that still uses the pressed cake weight method, according to the petition.
“The drained weight test is simpler for industry and regulators to perform and produces more consistent, reliable results, thereby ensuring that consumers get the amount of fish they purchase,” the petition said.
Since most consumers and food preparers discard the packing medium in canned tuna products, requiring the declaration of both net weight and drained weight on the label would give consumers more complete and useful information about the amount of fish they’re purchasing in each can, the companies said.
“Based on input from the industry, we understand that use of the pressed weight method is outdated. Products using the drained weight method appear to have gained consumer acceptance since becoming available,” the FDA said. “Our proposed amendments … will modernize multiple aspects and requirements of the standards, including allowing use of the drained weight method.”
Additionally, the petition requested the FDA ensure use of a packing medium is optional, permit the use of any flavoring, and limit the amount of vegetable broth that may count as flavoring based on the dry weight of vegetable extractives.
The FDA agreed current standards are restrictive regarding the use of flavorings. As a result, the proposed rule would permit flavorings and spices as optional ingredients and would change their terminology from ‘‘seasonings and flavorings’’ to ‘‘safe and suitable optional ingredients.’’
The changes would save canned tuna companies millions of dollars annually while insignificantly or positively affecting both consumers and the environment, the FDA found.
“This action is of a type that does not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment. Therefore, neither an environmental assessment nor an environmental impact statement is required,” the FDA stated.
The FDA said amending canned tuna standards may help modernize food standards nationwide and provide consumers with a wider variety of choices, as “additional choices of tuna products could lead to increased consumption.”
Tuna companies responded positively to the FDA’s proposed change.
“We applaud the recent announcement by the FDA to revise the canned tuna standard of identity and fill for a container,” Chicken of the Sea International Executive Vice President of Commercial Operations Andy Mecs, who worked at StarKist when the petition was originally filed, told SeafoodSource. “Chicken of the Sea and others in the industry have been working [closely] with the FDA to move to a more updated and realistic method in determining the fill weight of canned tuna.”
NFI, a trade group representing the U.S. seafood industry, has backed the FDA’s proposed change.
“The original [guidance] dates back to the Eisenhower administration, and canned tuna companies have for years publicly petitioned for an update,” NFI Chief Strategy Officer Gavin Gibbons told SeafoodSource.
NFI’s regulatory team, as well as technical teams from its canned tuna member companies, are reviewing the proposal and the organization plans to provide guidance to the industry and the government, Gibbons said.
If the agency finalizes the proposed rule, the FDA estimates ongoing annual cost savings to the industry ranging from approximately USD 4 million (EUR 3.7 million) to USD 15.9 million (EUR 14.7 million) at a 3 percent discount rate and approximately USD 3.9 million (EUR 3.6 million) to USD 15.8 million (EUR 14.6 million) at a 7 percent discount rate.
The costs of the proposed rule for the industry, if finalized, range from approximately USD 3,800 (EUR 3,500) to USD 6,000 (EUR 5,560) at a 3 percent discount rate and approximately USD 4,500 (EUR 4,200) to USD 7,100 (EUR 6,600) at a 7 percent discount rate.
The costs incurred for the industry includes reading and understanding the rule, training employees on new requirements, and the purchase of new equipment.
“These are one-time costs that industry incurs immediately after any final rule that may be issued based on this proposed rule pass[ing] its compliance date,” the FDA said.
Both the public and the industry can submit comments electronically or via mail at the address provided in the proposed rule by 24 November, 2023.
Photo courtesy of Sheila Fitzgerald/Shutterstock
