I mentioned San Marino tuna once before. More particularly, why we tried it once and never bought another can again. Well, we did. To make a very public comparison. While we prefer Permex tuna, we understand that it isn’t as widely available as Century and San Marino. So, Speedy and I decided to put Century and San Marino side by side and see how they fare.
This is not a paid post. We bought both cans of tuna. Shopwise Antipolo prices: Century Tuna Solid in Water, PHP38.25; San Marino Tuna Fillet in Water, PHP41.75. Despite the difference in label — fillet and solid — we knew that was a mere marketing strategy. Unflavored canned tuna is either solid, chunks or flakes. So, the whole fillets would be the equivalent of “solid”.
So, I’ve told you the price of both items. Let’s go to the net weight. Century, 184 grams; San Marino, 180 grams.
The can of Century Tuna has a pull tab which makes opening a cinch. I had to get my can opener for the San Marino can.
Now, let’s see what’s inside the cans, shall we?
Remember that Century Tuna is 184 grams while San Marino is 180 grams. But San Marino costs PHP3.50 more than Century Tuna.
After draining off the brine, the San Marino tuna fillet easily fell into the bowl. I had to use a blunt knife to pry off the contents of the can Century Tuna because the can was really packed with tuna.
Do the contents look like there is a mere four-gram difference?
Even the color of the fish differed. Century tuna was pinkish; San Marino tuna was yellowish.
Again, I repeat, we prefer the Permex brand which has more tuna and is even less expensive than Century.
Loading ...If you buy canned tuna on a regular basis, some points to ponder on:
Loading ...We all know that celebrity endorsers get paid — sometimes, in millions — to recommend a product. They make their recommendations because they are paid and not necessarily because they actually use the products that they recommend. Moreover, celebrity endorsement is totally unrelated to the actual quality of the product.
Most importantly, how many realize that the retail price of any celebrity-endorsed product is directly affected by the amount of talent fee paid to the celebrity endorser?
My point is that it is wise to try a product once then decide whether it is worth buying again. And that decision should be based on satisfaction or lack of satisfaction — not on whose face you see recommending the product. That is smart consumerism.
we often buy canned tuna too. For corned tuna, we prefer San Marino since it’s not as “malansa” as Century. For tuna in water/ brine and hot & spicy. i prefer century tuna. But I gotta agree with Permex, I love their tuna & beans! =)
san marino offered more tuna in the can and lesser oil/liquid when it first came out before celebrity endorsement. literally siksik, we favored it during that time, then when it got famous, we noticed the sudden change in their quantity.
we never bought san marino since then.
u8mypinkcookies, if only Permex were more mainstream…
@dashamanblog Wow, wish I could have seen that. What year was that?
@Connie@dashamanblog yes it was like heaven, siksik tlga sya. we always buy some when our taste bud ache for tuna. it was short lived. it was 1-2 months or less before marian and dingdong campaign went out. i don’t remember the exact date tho. sorry got some minor senior moments na.lol
@dashamanblog LOL That’s okay. Still, goes to show how celeb talent fees affect retail prices.
hubby usually buys century tuna from the filipino store- flakes in oil and flavored ones. the solid in water variety is usually not available. the flakes variety contains less meat. i must admit i buy a different brand with more meat and even cheaper. but if you look closely on the label, some of them sourced their tuna in the philipines!
Yep, seafood is exported. Only the excess get sold locally.
i prefer san marino. the tuna meat is not as soggy and soft. it also flakes much more attractively when you need it for salad nicoise. it also has less of “malansa” and metallic taste than century (i usually have a tummy ache after eating century tuna). however i did notice that it doesn’t fill the entire can lately. something should be done about this.
Until this post, I always assumed that Century Tuna was more expensive. I tried San Marino ONCE and since I did notice that there was LESS tuna shifted back to CENTURY.
It feels so good to learn that my preferred brand is even cheaper!
century hands up and head above! taste, contents, flavor, cost per gram!
San Marino eh! take it leave it? leave it!
‘ ‘ Corned tuna? a JOKE? TUNA SHOULD TASTE LIKE TUNA! FINALLY BROKE DOWN AND PURCHASED THREE CANS TO TRY! 2 CANS STILL ON SHELF! TOO MUCH TO PAY FOR CAT FOOD!
CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS ON A BAD PRODUCT IS AN REFLECTION ON THE PERSON! I FEEL EMBARRASSED FOR POOR “SAM” !!!!
SHE IS STILL PUSHING “GOURMET PET FOOD” ON HER SPEEDY MEALS PROGRAM! I CAN’T WATCH IT AFTER TASTING IT!
@jjjddd Who’s “Sam”? And which program? I really don’t watch local TV kasi…
I DO NOT KNOW THE EXACT NAME OF SAM’S PROGRAM ON CHANNEL FOR ABS OR G.M.AA. – MEALS IN 15 MINUTES OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT! THE LITTLE KOREAN – LOOKING GIRL…
BUT TURNED INTO A COOKING SHOW HIGH LIGHTING COOKING WITH “SAN MARINO CORNED TUNA”! I COULD NOT IMAGINE WHY ANYONE THAT DESIRED CORNED BEEF WOULD WANT TUNA! I FINALLY TRIED IT! THE CAT LIKED IT! I DID NOT! TWO CANS STILL ON THE SHELF! EXPENSIVE CAT FOOD! @Connie
@jjjddd Ok, thank you for the response.
Now, will you please lose the caps?
I love San Marino Corned Tuna. It has less oil and lots of tuna. Compare it – San Marino Corned Tuna versus Century Flakes in Oil. I buy Tuna and not oil. For Century Tuna Flakes in Oil, the tuna is literally swimming… in vegetable oil! Vegetable oil is the kind of oil you use for frying! The name of the product should have been Century OIl with Tuna Flakes! Lol. I just love San Marino Corned Tuna.
@tuna expert roxy You say, “Compare it – San Marino Corned Tuna versus Century Flakes in Oil…”What kind of joke is that — comparing NOT similar items.
I love San Marino Corned Tuna. It has less oil and lots of tuna. Compare it – San Marino Corned Tuna versus Century Flakes in Oil. I buy Tuna and not oil. For Century Tuna Flakes in Oil, the tuna is literally swimming… in vegetable oil! Vegetable oil is the kind of oil you use for frying! The name of the product should have been Century OIl with Tuna Flakes! Lol. I just love San Marino Corned Tuna.
Comparing San Marino Corned Tuna to Century Flakes in Oil are two different classes of products.
It would be more logical to compare the corned tuna of the two brands in which case I liked the San Marino Corned Tuna UNTIL I found out that their SODIUM content was so much more than Century Tuna’s.
This is what makes Century Tuna including their Corned Tuna – once again – the healthier choice.
Do not be fooled. In the above pictures, you will see which contains real tuna! Real tuna chunks ‘yung sa San Marino. Bakit maraming lasog-lasog ‘yung sa Century? Scrap? Extenders? Baka kaya mas mura. Hindi lahat real tuna.
@tuna expert roxy You know, when you call yourself an “expert”, you have to say something better than “baka”… Haka-haka is not expertise.
I saw recently on TV, a tuna product endorser saying he has been loyal to his brand . And he said “kita sa katawan ‘diba? ” Isn’t his six-pack abs by Belo and not because of eating tuna?
hehehehehe Exactly!