An Opinionated Ranking of Canned Tuna Brands (2024)

FAQs

An Opinionated Ranking of Canned Tuna Brands? ›

These are Skipjack, Albacore, Yellowfin, Bigeye, and Bluefin Tuna. Each of these five Tunas boasts a different texture of meat, a different color, and different taste. Thanks to these characteristics, certain species are better suited for meals like salads, while others are perfect for steak or sushi.

These are Skipjack, Albacore, Yellowfin, Bigeye, and Bluefin Tuna. Each of these five Tunas boasts a different texture of meat, a different color, and different taste. Thanks to these characteristics, certain species are better suited for meals like salads, while others are perfect for steak or sushi.

For tuna varieties, skipjack earns the Best Choice label from the FDA, while yellowfin and albacore receive the Good Choice label. The FDA suggests avoiding bigeye tuna, which has the highest levels of mercury. Before consuming canned tuna, it is best to consult with your doctor if you have any questions or concerns.

Research suggests light and skipjack tuna are lower in mercury than larger species such as bigeye and albacore. For this reason, the NHS recommends that if you're pregnant or trying for a baby, you should not eat more than four cans of tuna or two tuna steaks per week.

1.Thai Union Group (TUF)

Thai Union Group is the world's largest producer of seafood, with a significant presence in the canned tuna industry. The company's brands, including Chicken of the Sea, Starkist, and Underwood, are well-recognized and widely distributed across the globe.

A Japanese sushi tycoon has paid a whopping $3.1m (£2.5m) for a giant tuna making it the world's most expensive. Kiyoshi Kimura bought the 278kg (612lbs) bluefin tuna, which is an endangered species, at first new year's auction in Tokyo's new fish market.

Avoid all bluefin tuna and tuna caught in the Indian Ocean. Avoid imported albacore, bigeye, skipjack, and yellowfin tunas caught with drifting longlines or purse seines with FADs.

Certain types of tuna are high in mercury, which can have harmful effects on health in high amounts or in certain populations. For most healthy adults, it's recommended to consume at least 2 servings of fish per week, which can include tuna.

Oil vs Water

Tuna packed in water will contain fewer calories and less fat but also allows for the loss of omega 3 fatty acids to occur. Water-packed also dilutes the natural juices and flavors contained within the fish and can lead to a more rounded and less refined taste.

Also, due to the higher levels of mercury in tuna, if you are eating canned tuna, it is best not to pick fresh tuna as your weekly portion of oily fish. Other fish high in omega-3 fatty acids you could try instead include salmon, mackerel and sardines.

Is canned tuna better than salmon? ›

While they're both highly nutritious, salmon comes out ahead due to its healthy omega-3 fats and vitamin D. Meanwhile, tuna is the winner if you're instead looking for more protein and fewer calories per serving.

Canned sardines are often a healthier choice than canned tuna, the experts note. While both are high in protein, sardines are more nutrient-dense. Sardines have a higher combined omega-3 (DHA and EPA) content than tuna fish, says Largeman-Roth. Sardines are also lower in mercury than tuna.

Portofino tuna is the centerpiece to any Mediterranean-inspired diet. Available in yellowfin and albacore in easy-open cans and tear-open pouches, the tuna is perfectly paired with crostini, salads, sandwiches, and pasta dishes, or it can be enjoyed straight from the can or pouch.

Chicken of the Sea, Bumble Bee and StarKist “Possessed significant market power to raise prices for packaged tuna above competitive levels in the United States…and they conspired to ensure they would stabilize and maintain their market shares in the packaged tuna market despite declining demand,” Walmart said in its ...

Canned Tuna Market Regional Insights

One of the top five fish species consumed worldwide, tuna is a well-liked seafood. It is one of the fish with the highest commercial worth worldwide. The two countries that consume the most tuna in cans are the European Union and the United States.

The world record price for a tuna was set in 2019, when the sushi tycoon and "Tuna King," Kiyoshi Kimura, paid $3.1 million for a 612-pound fish. "I bought a good tuna," Kimura told AFP at the time, per the BBC.

Tuna is much the same and has four grades: #1 (highest), #2+, #2, and #3, and 5 categories that the fish is judged on: initial appearance; size and shape; color; texture; and fat content. Once a fish is landed, it goes right on an ice, ideally a saltwater ice slurry to bring its temp down to just above freezing.

The priciest giant bluefin tuna sold at Tokyo's biggest fish market on the first day of business in 2024 fetched ¥114.2 million ($788,440), in an auction for what is considered an auspicious fish that has become a Japanese New Year's tradition.

Even the lightweights and middleweights in the clan — the bonito and little tunny, the yellowfin and dogtooth — fight like hell. However, one species is universally recognized as the toughest brawler of them all: Thunnus obesus, the bigeye tuna. Bigeyes are certainly not the biggest of the tuna species.