Fatty Acid Composition of U.S. West Coast Albacore Tuna (Thunnus alalunga) and the Effects of Canning and Short-Term Storage

ABSTRACT

Changes in the fatty acid composition of 13 bled and blast-frozen U.S. West Coast albacore tuna (Thunnus alalunga) were determined following custom-canning and 5 weeks of canned storage. In accordance with typical custom-canning procedures, no additional packing materials were used, and the product did not undergo a precooking step. Raw albacore tuna was found to be rich in n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), with an average of 9.1% (% wt of total fatty acids) EPA and 33.8% DHA. Canning and short-term storage did not cause major fluctuations in the fatty acid profiles of the albacore tuna, with no significant changes in the total fractions of saturated fatty acids (30–31%), monounsaturated fatty acids (19%), PUFAs (50%), or n-3 PUFAs (46–47%). On a tissue weight basis, U.S. West Coast albacore tuna was found to contain high levels of total n-3 PUFAs, with 3.3 g/100 g tissue in raw tuna and 4.0–4.1 g/100 g tissue in products that were canned and stored for 5 weeks.

KEYWORDS:

• Albacore tuna
• fatty acids
• canned tuna
• processing effects

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Oregon Ocean Seafoods (Hammond, OR, USA) for the use of their processing facility.