Should Tuna Smell Fishy? The Truth About Tuna Freshness
Tuna is one of the most beloved and commonly eaten fish worldwide Its versatility, nutrition, and affordability make it a pantry staple for many But there’s an ongoing debate around exactly how tuna should smell. Is any fishy odor a sign of spoilage? Or is some smell totally normal?
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll uncover the truth about tuna freshness You’ll learn
- The science behind fish smells
- Key factors affecting tuna odor
- How to tell if tuna smells right or wrong
- Tips to reduce unpleasant tuna smells
- When to throw out tuna based on smell
By the end, you’ll confidently know whether your tuna passes the sniff test or belongs in the trash.
The Science Behind Fishy Smells
To understand tuna odor, we first need to know why fish smell “fishy.” Fish flesh doesn’t naturally have a strong scent. The fishy aroma comes from chemical compounds produced after death:
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Trimethylamine oxide – converted to trimethylamine (TMA) by bacteria. This is the main amine responsible for fishy scents.
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Cadaverine and putrescine – breakdown products of amino acids.
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Fatty acids like EPA and DHA.
These compounds exist at low levels in live fish. But after death, bacteria multiply rapidly, increasing TMA and other smelly byproducts.
Some mild fishy odor right after catch is normal. But it intensifies as the fish ages and bacteria continue decomposing tissue.
Now let’s see how this specifically applies to tuna.
Factors That Determine Tuna’s Smell
Several key factors impact the smell of tuna:
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Oil content – Fattier tuna like bluefin develop stronger smells from lipid oxidation. Leaner tuna like skipjack have milder odor.
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Storage temperature – Heat speeds up bacteria growth and chemical reactions that produce stinky compounds. Keeping tuna chilled suppresses this.
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Freshness – Older tuna smells more strongly due to accumulating waste metabolites. Ultra-fresh tuna has barely any odor.
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Processing method – Live tuna is nearly odorless. Smell increases after death. Canning reduces some volatiles but cooked odor remains.
So tuna smell varies based on fat content, storage, age, and processing. This means some mild fishy odor is expected in fresh tuna! Now let’s see how to tell if it’s normal or problematic.
How to Tell If Tuna Smells Right or Wrong
Since some fishy smell in tuna is natural, when does the odor indicate spoilage? Here are some guidelines:
Fresh tuna should have a very mild, neutral scent. A light ocean-like smell is fine. There should be little to no ammonia, sweet, or byproduct odors. Leaner tuna may have almost no smell. Fattier tuna may have a slight meaty scent from oils.
Aged tuna often has a stronger briny, fishy aroma, especially for fatty types like bluefin. Overpowering or sharp ammonia, sweet, sour or rotten smells indicate spoilage.
Canned tuna has a more cooked smell with some residual fishiness. It shouldn’t have strong or sharp chemical odors. Unpleasant bitter, vinegar, or sulfur smells are warning signs of spoilage.
Rotten tuna has an intense foul, fishy, ammonia-like stench. Potent garlic, cheese, bile or decaying odors also occur. There’s no doubt tuna has gone bad based on the extreme offensive smell.
The takeaway? Mild fishy scent alone doesn’t mean tuna has spoiled. But if the odor seems overpowering or rancid, that’s a red flag.
Tips to Reduce Unpleasant Tuna Smells
If you find tuna’s scent too fishy, there are some tricks to help:
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Buy the freshest tuna possible, preferably sashimi-grade.
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Keep tuna continuously chilled to inhibit bacteria.
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Rinse canned tuna to remove some excess smelly oils.
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Add lemon, vinegar, onions or other acids to neutralize amines.
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Marinate tuna in wine, soy sauce, or other masks.
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Cook tuna well with spices to diminish volatile compounds.
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Choose milder-smelling tuna like skipjack if the scent bothers you.
Proper handling and cooking can decrease fishy odors substantially.
When to Throw Out Tuna Due to Smell
At what point should you say no way to stinky tuna? Here are signs tuna has gone bad and needs discarding:
- Putrid, gag-inducing rotten stench
- Strong bitter, medicinal, ammonia odor
- Slimy, mushy flesh with foul smell
- Visible mold or white spots
- Rancid or “off” smell unlike normal fishy scent
- Unnatural flesh colors or discoloration
- Past freshness date or left unrefrigerated
Don’t risk getting sick from rotten or rancid tuna. Use the smell as a crucial indicator of safety.
The Verdict on Tuna Smell
So should tuna smell fishy? The short answer is…sometimes!
It’s normal for fresh tuna to have mild fishy, meaty aromas, especially fatty varieties like bluefin. This smell intensifies with age but doesn’t necessarily mean spoilage. However, strong foul odors do signal tuna has gone bad.
To recap:
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Light fishy scent in tuna is normal. Odor varies based on many factors.
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Judge tuna by smell strength and type, not just presence.
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Use tips like rinsing, marinating, and cooking to reduce unpleasant odors.
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Discard tuna with potent foul, rotten stench.
Aim for the freshest tuna, store properly, and use smell as a helpful guide. With this knowledge, you can confidently determine if your tuna is tasty or trash!
Be Wary of Stinky Tuna
DEAR DR. BLONZ: Should I be worried that the fishy smell in the tuna cans I open varies a lot? I usually have a few cans of solid albacore from the same major brand, but when I open one, it smells really bad, while another identical can smells barely there. Recently I considered throwing out the contents since the fishy odor was so pronounced. Any thoughts on this issue? Any safety concerns? — F. M. , via email.
DEAR F. M. : “Solid” types of tuna come from blocks cut from different parts of the fish muscle. Larger fish are often used for solid tuna because they have more muscle mass. However, this means that the tuna you eat is from an older fish. As you might expect, it all depends on how well the manufacturing process is controlled for quality, which includes the limits set for what counts as solid or chunk tuna.
Other possible issues are how the particular cans were processed and stored. If the tuna spent more time in a warmer place after being in the ocean and before being opened in your home, it may have been more likely to develop “off” smells that indicate the tissue is breaking down and the food is going bad. Fish, especially those that live in cold water, tend to do this because they contain fats and amino acids that break down into smelly substances. As long as they stay cold, everything is fine. But if they are out of the cold for too long, it’s unpleasant.
If you open a can of something and it smells “off,” I think you shouldn’t eat it. You could call the manufacturer’s customer service and tell them your story (the name and number of the company should be on the tin). Of course, they’ll also tell you to throw away the stuff (they might ask for the lot numbers first), and I think they’ll send you coupons for a new product. It’s also possible to return it to the store where you bought it and get a new can that way.
As long as we are talking about tuna, you should be alert to the issue of mercury. Albacore fish usually has more mercury than chunk light fish, which usually comes from skipjack, a smaller breed with a shorter life span. Tuna tend to bio-accumulate mercury and the older the tuna, the greater the risk.
This is mostly because albacore tuna tends to live longer and is one of the bigger tuna breeds used for canned fish. Because of this, bigger albacore caught for large commercial canneries usually comes from deeper waters and has a higher mercury risk. There are brands, such as Wild Planet (wildplanetfoods. com), that catch younger, smaller tuna. Their fishing methods include pole-and-line or trolling, and those result in fish with a lower risk of mercury. You can do some additional research at tinyurl. com/d464hdm before you buy.
Send questions to: “On Nutrition,” Ed Blonz, c/o Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St. , Kansas City, MO, 64106. Send email inquiries to questions@blonz. com. Due to the volume of mail, personal replies cannot be provided.
Agriculture’s ‘Environmental Deficit’ Is Unsustainable
DEAR DR. BLONZ: I am interested in your thoughts on pesticides and organic fruits and vegetables. What are the risks of eating foods that were grown with pesticides? What do you think are the pros of other options, like buying organic? — N T. , San Diego.
DEAR N. T. Health experts say that the risks from pesticides are much lower than the risks from bacterial contamination and naturally occurring toxins in our food. However, pesticides still do pose a challenge. One alternative is organic agriculture, where foods are raised without synthetic chemicals, such as pesticides, herbicides or fungicides. Integrated pest management (IPM), on the other hand, tries to keep farmers from using synthetic chemicals as much as possible. However, farmers can still use them when they need to.
For fruits and vegetables grown organically or on farms that use integrated pest management (IPM), farmers markets can be a great place to buy them. There are an increasing number of supermarkets that offer these foods as well.
The discussion of organic vs. conventional agriculture needs to go beyond the safety of the foods we eat. These worries should also include the dangers to the environment and the people who make, transport, and use these strong chemicals. All of this helps to explain why, despite promises, American consumers are still wary of pesticides, as shown by survey after survey.
We have the best food in the world, but this comes at a huge cost in terms of natural and human resources. A lot of commercial fertilizers are used every year, and pesticides made from oil are used to get rid of weeds, bugs, diseases, and other pests. This is one reason why farming uses more oil than any other industry.
Americas preoccupation with perfect-looking produce is a factor behind the continued demand for pesticides. “Alternative Agriculture,” a report from the National Academy of Sciences in 1998, talked about how the food industry promotes the use of pesticides just to meet strict standards for appearance. Public Voice and the American Farm Bureau Federation both did surveys on citrus fruits and found that over half of the pesticides used are only for cosmetic reasons, like getting rid of small flaws on the outside that don’t affect the fruit’s taste or health.
To eat, or not to eat, should never be the question. No one wants to impair our ability to feed the nation. The focus should be on the direction agriculture should be heading. We all need to balance human needs with costs and environmental consequences. Agriculture cannot continue to operate using environmental “deficit spending. ” Todays output should not mean a loss of tomorrows resources. Our farming environment needs to be brought back to health in a way that doesn’t harm our current abilities. Ideally it would be a balanced, sustainable system that gives back as it takes.
Information is power, so I encourage additional reading. The EPA has a page on pesticides at epa. gov/safepestcontrol. I also encourage you to check out the FAQs at the nonprofit Organic Farming Research Foundation: ofrf. org/organic-faqs.
Send questions to: “On Nutrition,” Ed Blonz, c/o Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St. , Kansas City, MO, 64106. Send email inquiries to questions@blonz. com. Due to the volume of mail, personal replies cannot be provided.
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FAQ
Is tuna ok if it smells fishy?
How do you know if tuna has gone bad?
What is raw tuna supposed to smell like?
Why do I randomly smell tuna fish?
What does tuna normally smell like?
Tuna has a naturally pungent, meaty, and fresh aroma that smells clean and like the ocean. Whether it’s fresh or packed in a pouch or can, the smell of tuna should not be unappetizing.
Is tuna fish good for health?
1) Tuna is loaded with omega 3 and 6 fatty acids which help in reducing cholesterol. 2) Tuna is rich in potassium which is known to reduce blood pressure. Omega 3 fatty acids in combination with potassium bring an anti inflammatory effect and promotes heart health. 3) Tuna is rich in various vitamins and minerals like manganese, zinc, vit C and selenium which help in strengthening immune system. They help in reducing free radicals and protect the body from cancers. 4) Vit B that is present in tuna helps in strengthening bones. 5) It improves skin health as it is rich in vitamin B complex.
Why does my tuna smell bad?
An overly fishy smell is an indication that the tuna has gone bad. Tuna steak can be delicious whether you choose to grill, bake, or pan-sear, especially when it’s marinated in herbs and spices. Tuna steaks are one of the easiest cuts of fish to cook as they are sold ready to use with minimum preparation.
Does canned tuna smell bad?
However, tuna is a form of fish and therefore has a fishy smell. If you’ve eaten very much canned tuna, you’re probably somewhat familiar with how it typically smells when you open the can. A good way to determine whether your tuna is bad is to take a good whiff of it. You will most likely catch an off odor as soon as you open the can.