> > Apparently, canning does not affect omega-3 content, according to the
> > FAQs at bumblebee.com.
> >
> > Neil
> > .
> >
> Take such FAQs with a grain of salt - consider the sources.  Sometimes
> it helps to consult several outside sources that are not in the business
> of selling the product in question.  Independent 3rd parties may not
> have a vested interest.  Now it is just my opinion (and not a studied
> one) that canned goods decline in nutritional value over time compared
> to fresh.  I haven't eaten anything from a can in 5 years... heh.


It is even worst with the grains of salt ;-)

canned fishes are very heavelly salted .

how comes omega 3 oils are so fragile in contact with air light and oxygene
and keep their integrity thru the canning process ,there is no light and not
much oxygene in the canning process but there is intense heat.

here is a text about the fragility of omega 3' from
http://www.wysong.net/health/post_108_040203.shtml
 <  Unsaturated fats are particularly vulnerable to free radical formation.
Food processors hydrogenate (remove free-radical susceptible double bonds)
to solidify liquid oils and decrease free radical vulnerability.  But by so
doing, they remove nutritional value and introduce trans-fat toxins.  But no
matter, they increase their bottom line by increasing shelf life - at your
health's expense.
    The more nutritionally valuable the fat, the more unsaturated it is and
the more vulnerable it is.  If a fat has one double bond (unsaturation) its
rate of oxidation is 100 times greater than a saturated fat with no double
bonds.  If two double bonds, it is 1200 times greater; if three, 2500 times.
Omega-3 fatty acids, the healthy ones we are all hearing about, have three
double bonds and are thus very vulnerable.   So beware of foods that contain
unsaturated fats, particularly packaged foods that sit on the shelf.  If the
manufacturer does not have the expertise to properly protect those fats, you
or your pet may be getting a whopping free radical dose with every morsel.
Even with the best of protection, high omega-3 processed foods are fragile
and potentially dangerous.  To significantly increase omega-3s in the diet,
fresh oils or fresh foods high in these oils should be used.
    The rate of oxidation in food depends upon factors such as degree of
unsaturation of the fats, heat, light, presence of oxygen, lipoxygenase
enzymes, prooxidant metals such as nickel, tin, iron and copper (good reason
not to cook with cookware where these metals contact the food), heme (blood)
iron and photosensitizers such as chlorophyll, myoglobin, riboflavin
(vitamin B-2) and heavy metals such as lead and mercury.
    Oxidation in food occurs by autooxidation in the presence of oxygen and
other initiators as mentioned above, or by photooxidation where ground-state
oxygen is converted to singlet oxygen by light and sensitizers, which very
aggressively (1500 times more reactive than stable triplet oxygen) attacks
fatty acid double bonds.
    An understanding of this rather complex chemistry (I have only touched
upon it here) provides clues to the prevention of food free radicals and
with that the protection of important and fragile >

I have to remind also that to analyse a food means to destroye its structure
in such a way that it doesn't give any info about the quality of the oil in
its raw unoxidized state so there is no way to compare thru analysis raw
undenatured whole foods and processed foods thru anlysis of its constituants
.
you have to try eat fishes raw for a while and compare .

jean-claude