What does “tuna in its own juice” mean?

Have you ever wondered what kind of liquid the tuna in a can floats in? What does “your juice” contain? And how is it different from “tuna oil?”

When tuna reaches the jar, it loses its red color during production. And to keep it from drying out, add oil (“tuna in oil”) or juice (“tuna in its own juice”). But what juice is this really?

As tuna is almost non-liquid, water is then added to canned tuna, explains the Bavarian Consumer Advice Center. Containers must be hermetically sealed and sterilized to ensure a long shelf life. Canned fish is heated to over 100 degrees Celsius. Without water, the fish would dry out there, explains Sabine Hülsmann, a food expert at the Consumer Center.

Therefore, the statement “in its own juice” is equivalent to the statement “in water” or “soak”. This option contains significantly fewer calories than “tuna oil” with added sunflower oil or olive oil. However, it still contains valuable omega-3 fatty acids. They remain largely intact in the production process.