Food

Canned fish

Updated: 01 Sep 2008
Canned-fish-hero

Introduction

We've surveyed over 50 canned salmon and tuna products, looking at their nutritional value.

A can of tuna or salmon added to a sandwich or salad makes a simple and speedy high-protein lunch. There's a flavour for every taste. Added flavour doesn't have to mean added fat and salt - we found plenty of low-fat and lower-sodium choices.

We found 15 products to recommend and there are many more worth considering.

What we found

Most products we looked at were single-serve. We were looking for those that were low in fat (especially saturated fat) and sodium. For full details of all the canned fish we looked at, see Products compared.

Plenty of low-fat choice

All products labelled "lite" or "98 percent fat free" were good low-fat choices, though some exceeded our criteria for sodium. Only 7 of the 56 products we surveyed exceeded our criteria for saturated fat (more than 2g per 100g).

The healthier options aren't limited to products labelled "lite" or "98 percent fat free". Several of our recommended products were "regular" products.

Check the label

Don't rely on a particular brand or flavour as a guide to a healthy choice. Sodium and fat content varied within brands and flavours. For instance, Sealord's Tuna Sensations Smoked Flavour contained 18.5g of fat per 100g - that's 11 times more fat than Sealord's Tuna Lite Lightly Smoked Flavour.

Hold the salt

The Ministry of Health recommends a range of daily sodium intakes. The maximum daily amount that adults can consume without increasing their risk of high blood pressure is 2300mg. But a mere 920mg is adequate for good health.

Two sweet Thai chilli-flavoured products approached the sodium barrier: Pams Tuna Sweet Thai Chilli and Pacific Crown Tuna Sweet Thai Chilli & Lime. Both contained more than 1000mg of sodium per 100g. If you eat the whole can in one go (and it's small so you probably would) then you'll be getting nearly half your daily maximum in one hit. Choose flavours that contain less than 400mg of sodium per 100g.

Tip: If your favourite flavour is high in sodium, don't eat it with other high-sodium foods like salty crackers and limit the amount you eat.

Flavoured fish or fish flavoured?

Almost all the products we looked at had their percentage of fish listed on the label. The highest fish content was 99 percent for Sealord Red Salmon; the lowest was a miserly 45 percent (Sealord Tuna Lite Mexican Salsa).

One to watch: Sealord's Tuna Sensations Tuna Spread contains only 23 percent tuna. Yes, it is labelled as a "tuna spread". But it sits alongside the canned tuna products on the supermarket shelf and it'd be easy to think it was more than a spread - so don't get caught out. This product is also high in both sodium and fat.

Tip: Always read the ingredients list. Look for products which contain at least 50 percent fish - more fish means more protein.

Chicken in a can

If you're looking for a convenient source of protein and don't like fish, a product like Chop Chop! chicken could be the answer. The sodium and fat content of the chicken chunks in spring water and sea salt are similar to that of tuna canned in brine. But canned chicken won't provide you with the omega-3s found in canned fish.

Chop chop! chicken cans

Products compared

Table of products


Second table of products

Guide to the tables

Our survey was based on label information. Products are listed, within ratings, by energy content - the lowest energy content is at the top.

  • Low fat is less than 5g total fat per 100g.
  • Moderate fat is 5-10g total fat per 100g.
  • High fat is more than 10g total fat per 100g.
  • Low sodium is less than 400mg per 100g.
  • Moderate sodium is 400-600mg per 100g.
  • High sodium is more than 600mg per 100g.
A =

ns = not stated.

We recommend

These products meet our nutritional criteria for fat, saturated fat and sodium. Per 100g they had less than 10g total fat, less than 2g saturated fat, and less than 400mg sodium.

  • Sealord Tuna Lite Lemon & Cracked Pepper Flavour 85g
  • Captain's Choice Sandwich Tuna in Spring Water 185g
  • Trident Tuna Asian Delights Soy, Ginger & Garlic 95g
  • Pams Tuna Chunks in Spring Water 185g
  • Greenseas Tuna 98% Fat Free Lime & Cracked Black Pepper 95g
  • Trident Tuna Premium Chunk in Spring Water 90g
  • Trident Tuna Asian Delights with Coriander 95g
  • Sealord Tuna Lite Natural Chunky Yellowfin 85g
  • Sealord Chunky Style Tuna in Spring Water 185g
  • Greenseas Tuna Chunks in Spring Water 180g
  • Weight Watchers Tuna in Spring Water 95g
  • Sealord Tuna Sensations Tomato & Basil 95g
  • Sealord Salmon Sensations Sundried Tomato 85g
  • Sealord Tuna Lite Lightly Smoked Flavour 85g
  • Greenseas Tuna 98% Fat Free Spicy Chilli 95g


The recommended products

Omega-3 with that?

Eating a tuna sandwich

To help reduce the risk of chronic disease (especially heart disease), the Ministry of Health recommends 430mg of long-chain omega-3 per day for women and 610mg per day for men.

The main long-chain (beneficial) omega-3s found in oily fish are EPA and DHA. The other omega-3 is ALA. Fresh oily fish such as salmon and tuna are some of the richest dietary sources of omega-3.

Tip: Some manufacturers now list the omega-3 content on the can's label. Sometimes the total omega-3 includes the less beneficial ALA - which isn't a long-chain omega-3. So when DHA and EPA are listed, add these together to get the total long-chain omega-3 content.

Super salmon

One 100g serving of fresh King salmon provides more than 2000mg of omega-3. Canned salmon is also a good source of omega-3.

An 85g single-serve can of John West Salmon Tempters Lemon & Cracked Pepper Flavour provides 408mg of long-chain omega-3s. That's almost one day's requirement for women and two-thirds of the daily requirement for men.

But amounts of omega-3 will vary with a fish's age and its environment - and the season. So always check the label.

Tinny tuna

The long-chain omega-3 levels in canned tuna are usually lower than what's in canned salmon. Only some of the tuna products we surveyed specified their omega-3 content on the label. Those that did contained 80 to 150mg of long-chain omega-3. So to meet the daily target you have to eat several cans.

Tip: Get the most omega-3 from canned tuna by choosing water-packed tuna (rather than oil-packed). Oil mixes with tuna's natural fat - and when you drain off the oil some of the omega-3 goes with it. Fish canned in spring water is a healthier choice than fish packed in brine as it contains less sodium.

Mercury concerns

Mercury occurs naturally in the environment and most seafood contains a small amount. Only a few species of fish may contain relatively high levels of mercury. These include dogfish, school shark, swordfish, marlin - and fish caught in geothermal waters (like trout). If you're pregnant, limit your intake to one serving of these fish every one or two weeks.

There's little concern over canned salmon and canned tuna. Canning doesn't affect the mercury content of fish, and the tuna species commonly used in cans are short-lived and so will have built up lower amounts of mercury.

 

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Report by Libby Manley