topic Re: Starkist tuna now owned by S. Korea company in Community Chat

Starkist tuna now owned by S. Korea company

KingstonsMom — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 17:39:33 GMT

In light of a recent thread (now deleted for links), I wanted to mention to those who may not know that Starkist was sold to a South Korean company a couple of years ago.

If you google 'Starkist Korea', you'll find many, many problems ranging from illegal fishing (criminal charges filed) to failure to comply with FDA inspections of a plant in American Samoa, to not filling the cans with the specified amount of tuna (lawsuit pending).

Personally, I won't eat any food products processed in S. Korea, Asia or China, due to the lack of regulations and unsanitary conditions in those countries.

DH worked for the Federal Gov't and was there for over a month.....oh, the horror stories he had to tell!

No links, to avoid the thread being deleted, but you'll be interested in the article on Greenpeace.org.

Re: Starkist tuna now owned by S. Korea company

Another new name Sue — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 17:42:37 GMT

So what kind of tuna are you buying? I don't blame you; I avoid food processed in China too.

Bumble Bee had a recent accident which didn't speak too well of their processing practices.

Re: Starkist tuna now owned by S. Korea company

Jordan2 — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 17:43:51 GMT

I only buy Bumble Bee and Chicken Of The Sea tuna. I never cared for Starkist.

Re: Starkist tuna now owned by S. Korea company

Bird mama — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 17:50:01 GMT

I better let my sister know. I think she gives Starkist to her cats as a treat (uh oh).

Re: Starkist tuna now owned by S. Korea company

ROMARY — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 17:51:50 GMT

Thanks for the update. We need to know 'these things'. Lots of international companies/businesses/corporations over there in SK. But, as I've said a thousand times, US companies should transfer some of their quality control managers/inspectors over there and everywhere outside the US. Lots of college grads (with experience) in that field looking for jobs. Why not transfer them to 'C' and SK? At least 'somebody' will be overseeing quality control/manufacturing/food processing/etc.

Re: Starkist tuna now owned by S. Korea company

sunshine45 — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 17:53:35 GMT

i tend to buy whatever is on sale OR whatever sams club has.

i have also bought flott tuna (italy) belly in bulk from a restaurant distributor. it is excellent, but on the expensive side.

Re: Starkist tuna now owned by S. Korea company

ROMARY — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 17:55:54 GMT

Let's not forget that if you or I decided to make a large batch of cupcakes and sell them on the corner, without any FDA inspections, just guess what would happen to us!

Re: Starkist tuna now owned by S. Korea company

chickenbutt — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 18:07:45 GMT

I used to think that StarKist used to be one of the better ones, but haven't purchased it for years. Bumble Bee was the worst. I don't really know about others.

For quite a few years now I've been purchasing the Kirkland brand (Costco's in-house brand) White Albacore in Water. This is the best, by far, canned tuna I've ever seen.

Re: Starkist tuna now owned by S. Korea company

KingstonsMom — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 18:10:41 GMT

I'm also very concerned with their unsustainable fishing practices. This is from Greenpeace:

"StarKist will clearly do anything to make a profit, whether it’s faking official documents or slaughtering tens of thousands of sharks, turtles, and other animals through its unsustainable fishing practices. Consumers deserve better than this," said Casson Trenor, Greenpeace USA’s senior seafood markets campaigner.

Re: Starkist tuna now owned by S. Korea company

aprilskies — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 18:11:16 GMT

Thanks for letting us know. I wasn't aware they were sold. Now I just won't buy. These days,I do my best to support with my dollars.

Re: Starkist tuna now owned by S. Korea company

jpie — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 19:37:24 GMT

Thank you for posting this IG. I did see about Starkist shortchanging the oz. on the cans, but did not realize that they had sold to a Korean company.

As Jimmy Fallon's skit character would say "Ewwwww."

Re: Starkist tuna now owned by S. Korea company

winamac1 — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 21:35:51 GMT

The bumblebee packs of wild salmon are now from China. I would never buy it now.

Re: Starkist tuna now owned by S. Korea company

hennypenny — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 22:16:04 GMT

Does anyone know where the kirkland tuna comes from?

Re: Starkist tuna now owned by S. Korea company

Q4u — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 22:24:31 GMT

Thank you for the update.... I'm appalled, first I've heard of it. I LOVE tuna.... but I don't buy any of it any more because of the mercury, but our trusted brands being bought out and ruined by International ownership just riles me. I'm highly selective of meats as well and won't buy anything that's been raised and slaughtered in Mexico and sent up here for sale. If I can't determine where the beef or chicken came from, I won't buy it.... I won't buy canned beef either, it's usually from Argentina....

Re: Starkist tuna now owned by S. Korea company

sunshine45 — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 22:35:38 GMT

found this online, but cannot guarantee how accurate it is.....

costco kirklands albacore tuna:

I asked Costco customer service. Sadly, their tuna is longline caught from the North Atlantic. According to the Monterrey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch, that puts it in the "Avoid" category for both the level of bycatch and depletion of fishery. Furthermore, longline caught tuna tend to be larger and hence contain more concentrated mercury.
Here's the response I got from Costco:

We appreciate you taking the time to email Costco Wholesale.

We are unable to provide vendor or manufacturer information for our Kirkland Signature products. However, I am able to provide the method of fishing used to catch the tuna and where it is canned afterwards. Our manufacturer uses long line fishing and the bulk of the fish is caught in the Northern Atlantic. The tuna is then processed and canned either in Santa Fe Springs, CA or in Puerto Rico.

Many types of seafood contain minute amounts of mercury called "methyl mercury," including tuna. The mercury level depends on the size and age of the fish, and the area of the catch. Commercial tuna is caught in the ocean far away from coastal areas where industrial discharges or emissions and the use of chemical compounds containing mercurial can pollute the waters. That fact, combined with the essentially constant levels of mercury in tuna over the past 100 years, suggest that the miniscule amount of mercury that does exist in tuna is naturally occurring.

Our vendor do test the tuna that comes off the line on a yearly basis to ensure safety of our consumers. Please let us know if there is anything else we can help you with.

Re: Starkist tuna now owned by S. Korea company

inallsincerity — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 22:47:09 GMT

I am a fan of Wild Planet skipjack.

Re: Starkist tuna now owned by S. Korea company

onewhiteSparrow — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 23:10:08 GMT

I have a can of Kirkland brand from Costco. Has date: Best by Oct. 2017.

Solid White Albacore Tuna. Packed in water.

Caught in Pacific Ocean. Product of Figi. Canned in USA.

Re: Starkist tuna now owned by S. Korea company

DiAnne — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 23:06:26 GMT

I read somewhere that the solid white albacore canned tuna has much more mercury in it then the chunk light canned tuna.

Re: Starkist tuna now owned by S. Korea company

chickenbutt — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 23:12:51 GMT

DiAnne wrote:
I read somewhere that the solid white albacore canned tuna has much more mercury in it then the chunk light canned tuna.

Hi DiAnne! I've also heard that. I just don't like the chunk light tuna, as it's kind of gross. So I stick with white albacore. But I'm not feeding it to kids or animals, and i don't eat it all the time so I figure I'm ok. One 7oz can of albacore makes about 6 meals for me, so I think that qualifies enough as not consuming too much.

Re: Starkist tuna now owned by S. Korea company

sunshine45 — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 23:13:47 GMT

@DiAnne wrote:
I read somewhere that the solid white albacore canned tuna has much more mercury in it then the chunk light canned tuna.

here is a chart and information from the environmental defense fund on tuna:

http://seafood.edf.org/tuna?utm_source=ggad&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=tuna&gclid=Cj0KEQjw04qvBRC6vfKG2Pi0_8gBEiQAAJq0vTWjBpGI_ZrDXT2wpy0J1qlPIiTL_Vk8js8_dnF0yCQaAiUz8P8HAQ