Are you eating/serving tuna these days or carbon monoxide

[Nicko]

This past week I read and article that said that many of the tuna suppliers spray tuna with Carbon Monoxide so that it stays pink. The interesting thing is that most countries have banned this process, however the fda has approved it for use. I found this a very sad piece of news and now I find myself asking restaurants if they know specifically about the tuna they are serving and if it is natural or has been sprayed with carbon monoxide. Apparently with this process you could leave a tun loin in the trunk of your car for over a year and it would still be pink.

[kuan]

Yeah. All the "sashimi grade" tuna you eat in the midwest is treated with Carbon Monoxide. The tuna we get here is known as Sako Block Tuna. It's commonly sold at Asian grocers. You can recognize it by its rectangular shape... perfect for slicing off pieces for sushi. The label says that it's treated with flavorless smoke to preserve freshness or something. It's actually Carbon Monoxide treated.

I don't think there are any ill effects. The only bad thing is it may actually be quite old and still look pink. Ugh!

[miahoyhoy]

No carbo mo here. Fish comes whole from Boston, trimed and sold. No other treatments. Spooky what people do to food though.

[Mezzaluna]

If the fish suppliers want it, the FDA will give it to them. There are too many darn hands in too many pockets these days.

[hans.schallenbe]

Originally Posted by Nicko

This past week I read and article that said that many of the tuna suppliers spray tuna with Carbon Monoxide so that it stays pink. The interesting thing is that most countries have banned this process, however the fda has approved it for use. I found this a very sad piece of news and now I find myself asking restaurants if they know specifically about the tuna they are serving and if it is natural or has been sprayed with carbon monoxide. Apparently with this process you could leave a tun loin in the trunk of your car for over a year and it would still be pink.

if that is true, lucky somebody discovered it. so lets ban these son of bts, doing so. as i believe anyway, that most food alergies and decises, do come from un - natural treatment of nature. like made cow, bird f. etc

hans

[Nicko]

I guess what really bothers me is that it is becoming harder and harder to know what the heck you are eating. I mean I have ordered tuna so many times because I want to eat something healthy and then to read about this. It is just very frustrating. This past year my wife and I have really strived to eat well and avoid anything with trans fats or hormones. As a result we have a much more natural diet, i.e. no fast foods, lots of fruits and vegtables, roasted and grilled meats etc. In this effort I have noticed that it is really really expensive to try and eat healthy in America.

[dano1]

as kuan said the saku is pretty easy to identify. It's a "neon" pink, won't be a dark color with the "shimmer" on the surface. It's a preoportioned cut-ive seen both the block and loin cuts-always individually portion packed and always frozen. Could be removed and tossed on ice in the fish counter i guess, but it's got a very distinctive look to it. Most, if not all, is processed and imported from the Phillipines-don't recall any other country of origin in my dealings with it.

It's got absolutely no flavor either IMO, but is used because of price and shelf life. If ordering in a restaurant advertising fresh ahi, saku will still have that same "neon" pink interior-send it back and let the "chef" know why.

hth, danny

[chrose]

Does this mean that if my heater goes bad and I croak from CO I will still maintain a healthy pink glow?

[Nicko]

Originally Posted by chrose

Does this mean that if my heater goes bad and I croak from CO I will still maintain a healthy pink glow?

<- Pink Glow

[Anneke]

Isn't this the same gas they use on fruits and vegetables that are picked early, to give them their "mature" look?

I'm no scientist, but honestly I'm not worried about it. You get a lot more toxins (esp. mercury) from tuna just from what it does when it's alive than what happens to it when it's dead. No woman of child-bearing age should be eating this stuff anyway..

But you're right Nicko. The information issue is a big one.

[Isa]

As if food can’t be attractive on its own. It makes me sad to think that now we’ll also have to worry about the use of chemicals food make-up.

[Jock]

I think the gas used on fruits and veggies is ethylene (sp?) which in red skinned fruits develops naturally as it grows on the bush, tree, vine. It is used a lot on "supermarket" tomatoes which are picked green and sprayed with the ethylene. I guess it's harmless enough since it is produced naturally but you are left with tastless fruit.

Jock

[chrose]

Curious about this since our local grocer Wegmans sells a lot of fresh and frozen tuna, I asked them if they sold this tuna. The reply was that they looked at it a couple of years ago and opted against selling it. Just FYI.