Et tu(na), Greenseas

Last 20 March I linked to Greenpeace’s Canned Tuna Guide [1, 2]. It ranks tuna brands based on several environmental criteria. Whilst Greenseas tuna’s fourth on the list of 12, it’s the highest ranked brand available in Deloraine – even though it’s in the red, i.e. very poor, category. Last week I bought a ‘425g net’ can of Greenseas ‘Tuna chunks in springwater’. Opening it, I was astounded to see the water level well below the can’s upper rim; and the tuna well below the water level. I weighed the can’s contents at 282g (66%) tuna and 143g (34%) water. So I phoned Heinz (i.e. Greenseas’ parent company) [3]. The consumer liaison woman sounded uninterested. She pointed out the label states the tuna’s 65% of the can’s contents and it comprises four servings of 70g each. These figures agree with my measured 282g tuna within the can’s 425g net weight. But I think the ratio of 34% water to 66% tuna’s excessive as is the can’s size given a significant airspace in the can above the tuna and water. I said to the Heinz woman that to me, notwithstanding the correct labelling, these two factors mislead the consumer. She said she’d pass this on to the marketing department. I replied that as I’d taken the trouble to phone, it’d be reasonable for Heinz to respond to my two complaints, i.e. not merely record them. Grudgingly she said Heinz would write to me ‘in a week’. I await its reply. Stay tuned.

P.S. Happy 10th birthday today, darling Indi.

farmdoc's blog post number 699

Here’s this week’s compendium. This week…

1. Greenpeace Australia published a helpful analysis of the sustainability of various canned tuna brands [1]. Unless buyers take note, in a few years there’ll be no tuna for anyone to eat.

2. Nutrition Diva wrote that healthy people can eat up to two whole eggs a day without any negative effect on their cholesterol levels or heart disease risk [2]. It’s amazing how the previous medical advice – to the contrary – could have been so wrong.

3. the BMJ reported that sexual activity, quality of sexual life, and interest in sex were positively associated with health in middle age and later life [3]. It’s a chicken-and-egg situation. Do healthier people have more and better sex, or does sex make people healthier?

4. JournalWATCH reported that long-term mortality among live kidney donors was similar to that in healthy controls [4] There was a increase in post-operative mortality among the donors. But it was tiny.

5. Sweetheart Vivienne alerted me to a NYT article concluding PSA (i.e. prostate specific antigen) testing’s useless to detect prostate cancer [5]. Hmmm. Interesting. I’ll ponder it for a while, I think.

6. using six criteria, Greenopia rated BP the greenest oil company [6]. Not many of the companies listed operate in Australia. Anyway BP’s the best of them. Shell was fourth.

7. the Herald-Sun reported that Australian F1 Grand Prix organisers lied by saying the 2009 event’s twilight timing produced a massive increase in TV watchers [7]. Question: How do you know when a GP organiser lies? Answer: When he speaks.

8. indeed today, is darling Emily's birthday [8]. I love her more today than I did on her previous birthday. Much more.

Finally, I wish you, dear Farmdoc’s Blog readers, a wonderful week.