Bumble Bee Seafood Company

FAQ

Benefits of canned tuna

Canned tuna is an excellent source of high quality protein, vitamins and minerals and is low in saturated fat. For Nutrition Information, go to your favorite Tuna item under the “Products” section and click on “Nutrition & Size”.

Recycling (can vs. pouch)

All of our canned products are 100% recyclable. We have also replaced plastic packaging in our ready-to-eat products to 100% recyclable paper. As of now, our pouched products are not recyclable, but we continue to look for alternatives that would allow recyclability.

Sodium

To provide our consumers healthier diet options, recently completed a phased project to gradually reduce the sodium content of our albacore by 44% to 140 mg and light tuna products by 28% to 180 mg from 250 mg per serving. We also introduced Very Low Sodium Solid White Albacore In Water (Prime Fillet) with only 35 mg of sodium per serving to meet the needs of consumers on sodium-restricted diets.

We are currently working hard to implement lower sodium across the remainder of our product portfolio in the coming months.

Trans Fat

Trans fats (also known as Trans fatty acids) are a specific type of fat formed when food manufacturers turn liquid oils into solid fats like shortening and hard margarine. However, a small amount of Trans fat is found naturally, primarily in some animal-based foods.Trans fats behave like saturated fat by raising low-density lipoprotein (LDL or “bad”) cholesterol that increases your risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). Trans fats can be found in some of the same foods as saturated fat, such as vegetable shortenings, some margarines, crackers, candies, cookies, snack foods, fried foods, baked goods, salad dressings, and other processed foods made with partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.

Bumble Bee Seafoods products contain 0g Trans fats per serving.For additional Nutrition Information, go to your favorite Item in the “Products” Section and click on Nutrition and Size Information.

Gluten

Most of Bumble Bee Seafoods products are gluten free. To comply with government regulations, major allergens such as wheat (gluten), soy, egg, milk, tree and pine nuts, peanuts, fish, and shellfish will be called out in the ingredient list of the label.

Kosher

Most products are Kosher. These products will bear any one of the following marks authorized by the Orthodox Union:Are products Kosher? or Are products Kosher? Parve or Are products Kosher? PareveAre products Kosher? P or Are products Kosher? Passover

MSG

Monosodium glutamate or MSG is a common flavor enhancer.

Bumble Bee Seafoods fish products do not contain MSG. Some of our non-fish products may contain MSG. MSG is required by regulation to be declared on the label. If you are sensitive to MSG, please carefully read the ingredient panel on the label.

Hydrolyzed Protein

Hydrolyzed protein is made up of hydrolyzed casein, a primary constituent protein in milk, and hydrolyzed soy protein, protein taken from soy. no longer uses hydrolyzed protein in any of our products.

GMO

GM foods are foods produced from ingredients that are or that come from genetically modified organisms (GMO). GMOs have had specific changes introduced into their genetic material to enhance specific natural properties like pest or disease resistance. Commercial GMOs in the US are limited to plant or plant materials.

At Bumble Bee we pride ourselves on listening and responding to what consumers want when it comes to feeding their families. Through continued product innovations, we are able to serve a growing number of consumers looking for convenient and affordable meal solutions free from genetic engineering.

Bumble Bee enrolled our Solid White Albacore products with the Non-GMO Project, which has established a vigorous process for verification that includes ongoing testing of ingredients, extensive documentation of ingredient sourcing, and more. We encourage you to contact the Non-GMO Project directly to learn more about the verification process they have in place or visit www.nongmoproject.org for more information.At Bumble Bee we pride ourselves on listening and responding to what consumers want when it comes to feeding their families. We know a growing number of shoppers today are looking for affordable and nutritious protein with clean ingredients free from genetic engineering. As the national brand leader in Solid White Albacore Tuna, certifying our Solid White Albacore line was the initial priority, and we are targeting to have the balance of our canned and pouch tuna products Non-GMO Project Verified by the end of the year.

As the national brand leader in Solid White Albacore Tuna, obtaining the Non-GMO Project Verification for our Solid White Albacore line was the initial priority. We are targeting to have the balance of our canned and pouch tuna products certified by the end of December and will pursue continued certification for our other product categories throughout 2017.Bumble Bee is an early adopter of the “Smart Label” industry initiative. We expect to have specific details pertaining to genetically engineered ingredients for all of our products listed with “Smart Label” by the end of the first quarter of 2017.

We recognize that a growing number of consumers want product options that are free from genetic engineering. As a result, we have secured Non-GMO Project Verified certification for our Solid White Albacore line and are targeting to have the balance of our canned and pouch tuna products certified by the end of the year. We will then pursue Non-GMO Project Verified certification for our other product categories throughout 2017.

We take feedback from our consumers seriously and we know that a growing number of shoppers are looking for product options that are free from genetic engineering. As the national brand leader in Solid White Albacore Tuna, obtaining Non-GMO Project Verified certification was our first priority and we expect to have the balance of our canned and pouch tuna products certified by the end of December. We will then pursue certification for our other product categories throughout 2017.

All Bumble Bee products meet the standards and guidelines for food quality and safety set by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. We respect the scientific conclusions of numerous organizations such as the FDA, USDA, American Medical Association, and World Health Organization that have deemed food containing genetically engineered ingredients perfectly safe.

Bumble Bee is committed to providing healthy and delicious meal solutions and, through this process, have ensured that we preserve the same high quality and delicious taste that consumers have come to expect from Bumble Bee tuna.

We are fully committed to transparency. In fact, Bumble Bee is an early adopter of an industry-led “Smart Label” initiative that will further enhance consumer transparency. We currently provide nutrition and ingredient information for our products on our website and, in the first quarter of 2017, we expect to provide GMO-specific details for our entire product line through Smart Label.

Cans of Bumble Bee Solid White Albacore Tuna carrying the Non-GMO Project Verified logo will begin moving onto store shelves as early as September 2016. We will look to label additional products with the logo once they have been certified by the Non-GMO Project.

Bumble Bee Non-GMO Project Verified Solid White Albacore Tuna products will begin moving onto grocery shelves in September 2016. Look for the Non-GMO Project Verified logo on the white printed lids of Bumble Bee Solid White Albacore Tuna. There, you’ll also find the URL to visit our Trace My Catch traceability page on BumbleBee.com.

Mercury

Mercury is a metal that occurs naturally in the environment mainly as a mineral called cinnabar, and unlike other metals, it is most often seen in its pure form as a liquid (sometimes called quicksilver) that has commercial uses in mining and until recently was widely used in thermometers. It is not used in any form by the human body and is harmful in excessive amounts. Mercury can be transformed into organic (e.g., methyl mercury) form by natural bacterial action or introduced into the environment by pollution. This organic form of mercury is introduced into the food chain of smaller animals like zooplankton. Because organic mercury is stable in the fat tissues of animals and not readily removed, it is progressively collected through the food chain by larger animals (like fish) and eventually end up in humans through the regular diet.

Many types of seafood (including tuna) contain minute amounts of mercury. 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 mercury 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. Nearly all fish contain traces of methyl mercury. Canned tuna meets all health and safety standards set by the FDA, which has established the maximum safe level of methyl mercury allowed in commercial seafood at 1.0 parts per million. In the latest product survey by the FDA, canned light meat tuna averaged less than an eighth of that amount, and canned albacore tuna averaged about a third of the maximum safe level set by the FDA. In the most comprehensive study ever conducted on the subject, the evidence showed that fetal exposure to methyl mercury from fish consumption during pregnancy (at the consumption levels seen in most parts of the world and certainly in the U.S.) does not have measurable cognitive or behavioral effects later in childhood.

The government advisory advises that a well-balanced diet includes a variety of fish and shellfish that can contribute to heart health and children’s proper growth and development. Pregnant women, nursing mothers and young children in particular, should include fish or shellfish in their diets due to the many nutritional benefits. The government’s advisory also makes it clear that pregnant and nursing women can safely consume albacore as one of their fish choices. Specifically, the advisory tells pregnant women they can safely eat up to six ounces of albacore a week, which translates into three full servings. You can continue to eat up to twelve ounces of a variety of fish (such as our light meat tuna) and shellfish each week.

Health experts agree that consumers do not eat enough seafood and that the health benefits of seafood far outweigh any potential risk.