Most canned foods now come in “self-opening” cans, where you pop the ring on the top and pull up the lid, obviating the need for a can opener.
Not tuna, though. Both people tuna and cat tun still come in the old-fashioned cans that you need an opener for.
Why?
It’s easier to drain them if you have a flat lid?
You don’t drain kitty tuna, though, just dump the whole thing into the bowl. I’m thinking it must be something about the nature of tuna, or something about the materials used in pop-top lids, which aren’t as stiff/substantial as the regular kind.
I’ve seen tuna in the ring pull cans, but I think it was only ever the"tuna salad" stuff - tuna with some kidney beans and sweetcorn. Not sure if that should make a difference. I also think this brand came from LIDL, so perhaps Germans are sensible and use nice easy-open cans.
Corned beef tins, now - they are EVIL.
Perhaps things are different in Pennsylvania, but here in Northern California the vast majority of canned goods (at least the ones at the stores I buy from) are still packaged in ‘traditional’ cans. I see some soups in ‘pop-top’ cans, and some single-serving fruit cans, but that’s about it.
Well, okay, maybe I’m exaggerating about how everything but tuna is in pop-top cans – but it clearly is an exception in catfood. Every variety my guys eat comes in pop-tops, except those that have tuna in them, none of which do.
There is no significant consumer demand for a pop-top lid on tuna cans (probably for the reason Johnny LA suggested), so canning companies have not invested the money in new canning machinery and more expensive cans. (The innovation they are pushing is tuna in pouches rather than cans, at a much higher price.)
So why are the folks at Friskies and 9 Lives switching to the other lids when it comes to canning tuna?
FWIW – When I read the thread title, I thought: “I’m guessing this will be about how you can get tuna cans with pop-top lids but not cans of other stuff.” That is to say, the premise of the OP does not fit my experience at all! I went hiking a couple of weekends ago and specifically brought tuna (and crackers) because I thus didn’t need a can opener on the trail.
(The only exceptions I find these days are the tiny one-portion-sized corn, baked beans, etc., cans.)
I eat a lot of canned tuna, and it all has traditional lids. I also feed my cats Friskies, some of which include tuna, and they all have pull-tab lids. At least with my usage it correlate with whether I’d drain the contents.
I think it’s a random artifact of your individual shopping experience. Of the groceries I buy, tuna is the only canned good with a pop top - the rest all require a can opener.
I’d like to see some kind of cite for this. It seems very unlikely to be the reason. Here in Panama, all kinds of tuna (chunk, filets, etc), including US brands such as Starkist and Chicken of the Sea (which I presume is canned in the US) is sold in pop-top cans, so the machinery exists. Draining the cans is slightly harder, but I don’t think that factor makes up for the convenience of having a pop-top.
It surprises me to hear that tuna is sold in solid-type cans in the US. Why they should market pop-tops in Panama and solid tops in at least part of the US seems odd.
Here in L.A. I buy tuna in pull-top cans all the time. Solid white albacore packed in water.
My cat tuna has a pull-up ring. However, my cats prefer cat chicken (also with pull top)to cat tuna. And they prefer Bumblebee to cat chicken.
Of course they always get the juice. I don’t know how I’d get the juice out, with a pull-top can.
I usually put the tuna in a sieve, and press down on it to extract the tuna juice.
Working in design/marketing with some experience in packaging design (although it is not my primary area of expertise), the choice of packaging is always a balance between the cost vs the additional sales improved packaging may bring.
Ring pull cans cost more to make. Every brand will make a choice about whether the additional expense is worth it if it will increase their sales. Cheaper brands may take the view that their customers prefer a cheaper price than the convenience of a ring pull. It’s very unlikely that tuna holds some mysterious place in the traditional non-ring pull market, except that some brands may regard it as such a high volume/easy sell product that the additional expense of a ring pull isn’t worth the investment.
My WAG is that traditional cans will die out entirely as consumers come to expect a convenient ring pull and reject brands that don’t come on board. Or be replaced by something else entirely - some brands in the UK have started using cartons for traditional canned products, for example.
As do I here in Santa Cruz.
Move to Australia. I was delighted when I moved here to find most things, including tuna and cat food, are in pull top cans.
And the tuna comes in flavors and stuff, hooray!
That link leads to a welcome screen, not to a specific product.
In the US, I’ve seen tuna packaged in pouches, rather than cans. I’d like to try pouches, but the tuna isn’t packed in water or oil, it’s dry. And I’m afraid that if I open a container of tuna and do NOT provide tuna juice, I’d have a feline revolution on my hands.
And yes, this does factor into my decision when I select tuna. I like tuna and eat it 3-7 times a week. It’s one of the few fish that I DO like, and my doctor wants me to eat fish fairly frequently.
Oh, it seems the link won’t work as my shopping session has expired… You’ll have to use your imagination - it’s kind of like a small drinks carton. I can’t find another pic, but here’s an article about it.