Check your tuna (and other tinned/packaged fish)

[colormist]

I wrote this on the facebook wall last night, but I'm not sure how many check there very frequently.

I must be on an almost 100% fructose free diet because I haven't noticed this before. I've been sick for over a week and not eating much of anything (cereal, milk, homemade chicken noodle soup, tea). I finally started getting bored of my soup and decided to make a tuna sandwich for dinner.

Got out a package of Starkist, ate it without a second thought.

Later I started to feel sick, but I attributed it to my illness. Then the kidney pain kicked in and I realized it was something I ate. The only think non-typical was the package of Starkist (I usually eat out of tins, but my cat has started to bother me when he hears the can opener).

I dug the bag out of the trash and sure enough, Vegetable Broth. I dug through the remainder of fish in my cupboard. Salmon was still safe, but my tinned Starkist and tinned Bumblebee Tuna both had vegetable broth.

I went to the grocery today to check the tuna section. There are some expensive tins of tuna that are fructose free (but they cost me about $3 each). The cheaper varieties all had vegetable broth.

I just don't know how I didn't notice it until now.

[CK]

Do you have a Trader Joes or Whole Foods? They have tuna that comes in spring water or olive oil without any other fillers unless you get one with salt. I haven't had any problems with their tunas.

[Tammy]

I just checked Chicken of the Sea packed in water, which is in my cupboard. Yep, vegetable broth. Must not be enough to bother Regina though. It's what I always use. Although I usually just put it in noodle casserole. Very seldom does she eat it as just Tuna, or a lot of it.

[colormist]

Tammy: Yeah, I usually have tuna in a casserole, so I think that's why I never noticed it before.

CK: I do, but they're both about an hour away and I have limited funds. I also swore off Trader Joes after discovering their shredded wheat was partially frosted (even though they label didn't list anything aside from wheat on the ingredients). I don't think they clean the machines between cereal types. I decided I couldn't trust anything after that.

I love Whole Foods, but everything is so very expensive and I've managed to find most of the stuff in their stores in other local groceries.

[kim55]

Yesterday I checked some of the tuna at the grocery store. The Kroger Light Tuna listed vegetable broth, but then it had the word soybeans in parentheses after that. The albacore tuna listed more vegetable broth ingredients; I think it included soybeans, celery, and peas, can't remember the fourth one. I think Starkist listed vegetable broth but did not specify the ingredients. I usually buy the store brand in a can, but sometimes I buy the small Starkist pouches to have on hand at work for days I forget to bring my lunch.

I have not had any adverse reactions to tuna--I can tolerate very small amounts of sugar that some of you can't--but I have noticed that tuna does not do anything to help me when I need a "protein fix" to counteract low blood sugar.

[rachael]

I know this is an old post, but wanted to note that currently (Fall 2017), Kirkland/Costco tuna in water looks safe.