Mmmm, This Salmon Is Full Of Tasty Spinal Column
Alena writes: "This evening I opened a can of Crown Prince Natural Wild Caught Alaskan Pink Salmon I was shocked to find part of the spinal column, of the fish and several other bones in my product. I sent a very angry email and pictures to the company so they could see how disgusting your product is. The can is the 7.5 ounces and lot number 627OK 1PINJ. UPC/Barcode: 073230008962. Absolutely "not ready to eat."
UPDATE: As several commenters point out, it is totally normal for canned salmon and lots of other canned fish to have bones in them. The bones are edible and good for you if you have the teeth to gnosh them. Boneless varieties are available, check the can's label. However, boneless varieties are more expensive. A money-saving trick: use a blender on the cheaper kind.
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Comments:
NORMAL, I have always since I was a little kid had to remove the spinal bones in canned salmon. Even the good stuff.
Yuck! Things like this probably happen once in a while, with mass produced canned food. Out of the millions of fish they process, one of them just didn't get processed properly.
If they were boned by hand, a fish could have slipped by one one of those huge assembly lines. Remember the fish gutting and boning station on the show "Dirty Jobs?" Hard disgusting work.
If the fish are processed by machine, it's possible a fish went into the machine crooked or backward, messing up the process.
@GiselleBeardchen: Exactly. We would mush them up with a fork as we were making the patties. I do remember being a little freaked out the first time but my mother explained how normal this was and that the good-for-you bones became extra soft during the canning process. Eat up!
Never had salmon from a can before, huh?
It's NOT TUNA. Smaller fish.
Ever see salmon steaks in the fish dept at the grocery store? Cram one of those in a can and cook the life out of it. Voila. Canned salmon.
Completely and totally NORMAL from canned salmon.
(I'm saying this as a person who absolutely cannot stand to be reminded that my food was a vertebrate with a functioning nervous system. Can't stand chick spine, beef spine, fish spine. Yuck. But this is NORMAL for canned salmon. Which is exactly why I NEVER buy it. Ever. Don't badmouth a company just because you don't like what you bought.)
omg omg omg omg I'm going to be sick. That is sooooo nasty. And by the way, wasn't this covered in "Monty Python's The Meaning of Life"?
As several people have said, this is the NORM. Every can of salmon I've ever consumed has had bones in it. They crunch to dust when you bite them. It's not something to freak out about, and I'm sure the company has gotten dumb letters like this before, and they'll send you a form "yeah, that's how it comes, get over it" letter. Sorry.
Here is an educimation lession from the Illinois Dept of Ed.
[wellnessways.aces.illinois.edu]
T or F It is dangerous to eat the bones in canned salmon.
False Canned salmon is pressure cooked so the bones become soft and are easy to
eat and digest.
T or F Canned salmon with bones is a good source of calcium.
True The edible bones in canned salmon are a good source of calcium
I also remember these tasty morsels being in canned salmon from when I was forced as a kid to eat salmon patties. I would take the round bones put then between my thumb and forefinger and squish them.
Next story please. Move along nothing to see here.
The fish factory probably loves to get these letters. I'd like to see what the OP writes to Manishevitz about the worrisome gel in jars of fish balls.
No need to remove the bones, guys!
But instead of sitting here complaining about the state of public education, how about a humble suggestion. Ben & Jerry's should simply add salmon bones to Phish Phood ice cream. Instantly, everyone would get familiar with them. Problem solved.
Yeah...I can only think of one can of salmon I have consumed that didn't have the spinal column included. It was advertised as "boneless and skinless". I bought it out of curiosity because i do find the skin a little gross. Long story short, the color was unsettling, and it just tasted too processed. More bones and skin please!
Want a real shocker open up some Vienna sausages. Even better now that we're on the subject see my favorite "food critic" hxxp://www.thesneeze.com/mt-archives/000344.php replace XX with tt above, enjoy.
Some people just like to have things to complain about. Others simply don't realize that thinking before speaking (or in this case, emailing) is an excellent idea that will keep one from looking foolish.
Honestly, if the general populace really knew what gets put into most of the food we eat...
I'm siding with the OP. After this incident, its better stick to foods that have a long track record of fine, safe ingredients. Like hot dogs.
" snt vry ngry ml nd pctrs t th cmpny..."
S bns frm fsh nd p n yr cnnd fsh nd y snd n ngry -ml t th cmpny nd snd th lttr t Cnsmrst? Wht d y d whn y fnd snk hd r rdnt n yr cnnd fsh, cll Prsdnt bm nd sk fr n r strk?
plt -ml wld hv bn bttr nd prbbly wld gt y frthr. s mny hv sd hr, spnl bns r pprntly nrml, nd gn, t s NTRLLY PRSNT prt f th fsh bdy.
Everyone, factual corrections are fine -- slamming the victim (or the editor), name-calling, accusations, and such are not fine and not acceptable.
Please voice dissent with civility and courtesy. Treat others as you would like to be treated.
@Julia789: They don't de-bone fish by hands at the larger plants. They use a machine. It rips the bones out, but this happens sometimes. At my plant sometimes we receive PBO (pin bone out) products that still have the bones intact and one of our cutters has to pull them out. Doesn't happen frequently but it does happen.
@narcolepticdoc: It shouldn't happen, most canned products are made from bone out fillet. This is poor oversight from the canning company.
At first, I thought the Consumerist was posting this story to show a consumer's possible overreaction, but the tags say otherwise.
I know everyone is up in arms about Alena's story, but I can see her confusion as I do not eat canned salmon.
Maybe they should be more clear on the can about the possibility of bones in the product? Or just buy "Pacific Pink Salmon-boneless and skinless" if you are grossed out by bones?
I only have had the occasional can of salmon, and I don't recall ever having bones in mine. Grossness aside, I would have been more upset about the fact that since their were bones, there was less meat. I think my first course of action would be to bag the whole mess up and take it back to the store I got it from to get a refund or exchange, then fire off a (polite) letter to the company letting them know about it and what actions I took.
One note; as many have posted here its normal for bones to be in canned salmon. Personally I pick the big ones out along with the dark stuff but you may like it.
However the OP stated he/she bought the 7.5 oz version. I've never bought it so can't say for sure but I've always assumed the smaller (and usually more expensive) cans had all the yucky parts removed and was a more premium product than the 16 oz version. Hence the surprise at finding the bones.
Everytime I make salmon patties, I put the meat and bones in a food processor with the canning liquid for a few seconds. Goodbye ugly, crunchy pieces! Hello, healthy calcium!
I would say it depends what's on the packaging. If it says boneless or Pin Bone Out on the packaging then Crown Prince messed up, and it does happen that a pin bone machine misses, and the person should get a refund. If not then the product is up to specifications and the person should read better. The bones are harmless but saying it's ok because of that is similar to saying. I ordered a steak and it had ground beef in it as filler. Well it won't hurt you, true but that's not what I asked for.
I don't eat canned seafood. It tastes terrible. Buy the stuff frozen on the boat. It's cheap and tastes a lot better.
@Syntania: I only have had the occasional can of salmon, and I don't recall ever having bones in mine.
Canned salmon ALWAYS has bones, which is why I don't eat it. Also, like so much American food, there's probably zero or very little fat in a can of it, so if you don't mix it with mayo, you'll be hungry about five minutes after you eat.
FATALITY! SUB-ZERO WINS!
@Consumerist-Moderator-Roz: It does bring up a good point - what, if any - research is done before cutting and pasting an article together?
Do some research next time you slam a company.
@sonneillon: Canned salmon is not "most canned products." It always has bones in (at least one's that I've had), regardless of the canning company or brand.
When I was in the Air Force and poor, I resorted to opening a can of salmon for dinner. I also, almost barfed when I discovered the little bones. Guess Im not the only one =D
As someone who eats canned salmon fairly often, I can confirm that this is normal if you don't read the label carefully, and it grosses me out too. You have to look for the words "skinless" and "boneless" on the label to avoid this (I don't like the skin either). If it doesn't say that, what you see in the picture is what you see when you open the can.
Guess what, canned salmon will have bones AND fresh salmon will as well. IT IS AN ANIMAL They have bones. Do you complain if you buy salmon filets and they have bones? You buy a better product if you buy your fresh food with bone still in
Maybe it's more of a canadian thing, the canned salmon, but I honestly couldn't figure out what the problem was here. Also apperently cans of salmon in the US are huge whereas in Canada they are much more likely to be about the size of a can of tuna. Anywho, I'm in total agreement with other posters, this is normal. Either pick the bones out (takes forever!) or just mash them up. Personally I'm more creeped out by the skin.
AND now I want a salmon sandwich!
Wow, there less vowels than bones in these posts!
I remember as a kid being a little grossed out by this, but my mom always said it was good for me.
My father eats canned salmon, and while I think it's totally gross, this is totally normal. It has bones and skin and smells bad (IMO). That's just the product.
Buying crappy fish in a can is a mistake in the first place. Buy fresh cut salmon and use quickly.
@Aladdyn: Agreed. At least post something on the front page under the article saying, "Oops, we didn't fact check again. Bones are normal in canned salmon."
It could be apocryphal, but reminds me of this post I read somewhere, where the poster called hunter who eat their kill cruel and uncivilized, and told them to "get their meat from the grocery store, where no animal were hurt in the process."
Face it: Your nice steak is a slice of muscle, and your fish filet used to have eyes and a brain, among other parts.
Accept being a carnivorous/omnivorous predator, or go vegetarian. To pretend meat is just another blank product like plastic and Styrofoam is rather hypocritical, not to mention willfully ignoring the consequences of your choices.
(And - yes, eating plants still kills life. And using styrofoam or plastics has consequences of its own. But it's not the point here and now. Just remember not eating anything also kills life, mainly your own!)
So is the story going to be corrected.
I /WAS/ eating.
@Consumerist-Moderator-Roz: Even better: Correct the damn article.
The comments should influence the quality of the articles. Instead, we get non-productive rules like "don't criticize the OP/article writer" when articles like this get posted, and they just keep appearing.
Yup, like everyone's been saying this is just par for the course. I forget whether there's any warning on the can. Is there? Not sure it's even necessary, but now I'm curious.
That is totally normal. Any time you get salmon in a can it has the bones. Mush them up with a fork and make your food. You wont even notice them.
Even if it [i]weren't[/i] a normal occurrence, it is an animal. What's so much grosser about the spinal column and skin than eating the thing's muscles? Or removing them if they're simply not to your taste?
![[i52.photobucket.com]](http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g14/verucalise/salmon.jpg){kind=link}
Never had Salmon from a can before? This is the norm--not the exception. When I was a kid we had Salmon patties weekly--we considered the crunchy-but edible- spine parts a treat!