Canned Tuna

• Good canned tuna is firm and flaky. An oily fish, tuna is high in Vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids.

Fresh Tuna

• Good fresh tuna steaks look a lot like beef steaks, ranging in color from light pink to deep red, and the texture is very much the same. Tuna with dry or brown spots is not fresh.

Nutritional Benefits

• When cooked properly, fresh tuna has better nutritional value than canned tuna. It is higher in fatty acids. During the canning process, however, tuna can lose many of the values of fatty acids fresh tuna has.

Substitutions

• Although canned tuna doesn’t have quite the same taste or texture as fresh tuna, one can be substituted for the other, particularly with the ever-popular tuna salad.

Tuna Warnings

• The Food and Drug Administration issued in 2004 guidelines recommending that “pregnant women, nursing mothers and children limit their intake of tuna.” This is because nearly all fish contain some traces of mercury, which can be particularly harmful to infants and small children.