The Highest And Lowest Quality Tuna Brands You'll Find At The Grocery Store

Canned tuna is an excellent source of protein, makes a convenient snack or meal ingredient, and is often affordable, too. As such, canned tuna is a great addition to your pantry. However, not all brands of tuna are the same. 

Whether you're shopping for yellowfin, skipjack, or albacore, and whether you prefer it packed in oil or water — when it comes to canned tuna, making the right purchasing decisions impacts not just your wallet and personal health, but also the planet. While some top-ranked canned tuna brands go above and beyond to provide quality products sourced with sustainable practices, other tuna producers pack their cans with questionable ingredients or unnecessary additives, and certain companies utilize suspect fishing techniques or packaging to cut costs and get that product to your cart faster.

So which tuna brands should you opt for when you're at the grocery store? These are some of the lowest- and highest-quality tuna brands out there, with determinations based on factors like sourcing practices, online reviews, and whether or not a company uses potentially unwelcome additives — find more information about our methodology at the end of this article. 

Wild Planet is touted as a high-quality canned seafood brand for a variety of reasons. Looking specifically at its tuna offerings, Wild Planet's albacore wild tuna with no salt added goes far beyond the boasts made by some of the lower-quality tuna brands listed here. This tuna is caught with no nets, and it's not only dolphin safe, it's turtle safe, too. Adding to the brand's credibility, Wild Planet is named by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch as a brand that reliably provides information about how its tuna was caught. 

Additionally, when you look at the ingredients list of Wild Planet tuna, all you see is one item: tuna. There's no water or oil added, or additives like preservatives. As such, when you open up one of Wild Planet's cans of tuna, you're not going to see a bunch of shredded fish or tiny chunks. These hand-cut and hand-packed pieces of tuna are large. 

Pick up a can of Natural Catch tuna, and you'll immediately see a big difference between this tuna brand and the other guys — and it all starts with the packaging. Natural Catch tuna doesn't come in a round cylindrical can that requires you to break out the can opener. Instead, similarly to sardines or anchovies, this tuna comes in a tin with a pop-top. This allows the tuna to retain a fillet shape, for customers to enjoy larger cuts of tuna instead of those chunky bits and bobs so common in round cans. Additionally, Natural Catch tuna is packed with a high-caliber type of extra-virgin olive oil sourced from Spain.

Natural Catch tuna is caught via the pole-and-line fishing method, which is a technique preferred by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch as one of the most sustainable options. As such, the brand claims that its practices are not harmful to dolphins and turtles. Additionally, Natural Catch points out that its pole-and-line fishing methods result in catching younger tuna that have lower mercury levels than older and larger tuna. 

Bumble Bee is one of the more prominent shelf-stable seafood options at grocery stores, with an array of products available. The brand goes beyond providing canned tuna, offering snack packs with tuna salad and crackers and ready-to-eat tuna and pasta bowls. Management at Bumble Bee has also recently made efforts to improve the company's sustainability practices. In 2021, only 71% of its seafood was sourced sustainably, and that percentage rose to 91% by 2023. 

However, when you break down the numbers, some of Bumble Bee's individual products still have a lot of room for improvement. For example, Bumble Bee admits that the majority of its albacore tuna has not yet been assessed as meeting Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification standards, with only 5% currently earning that status. Additionally, when you look at a basic can of Bumble Bee's solid white albacore, you'll find not just water and tuna in the can. Due to the addition of unnecessary ingredients like vegetable broth and sea salt, each 5-ounce can of tuna packs in 320 milligrams of sodium, so a single serving accounts for 14% of your daily recommended intake. 

Many of Tonnino's tuna products are distinctively packed in jars, allowing you to see the tuna, its size, and its visible quality before you even put it in your cart. However, if you really like the convenience of cans, the brand also sells canned versions of its products, including options flavored with tomatoes and olives, carrots and peas, and jalapeños. 

Tonnino also boasts an exclusive preparation method for its tuna. Immediately after it's wild caught with pole-and-line techniques, the tuna is frozen aboard the ship. The tuna is rigorously tested for mercury levels, and cooked on the bone in a manner intended to retain moisture and flavor. Then, the tuna is hand-cut and hand-packed. Additionally, if you're really interested in knowing where your food comes from, you can use Tonnino's tuna-tracing feature on the brand's website to find out exactly where your tuna was caught, and even which captain was responsible for the fishing vessel. 

American Tuna is another brand that allows customers to trace the source of its tuna, allowing customers to learn about where their seafood came from and which ship caught it — but if you just want some basic details, you can find them right on the can. The company puts information about its fishing methods front and center, clearly spelling out that every can's contents were either pole-and-line caught or troll caught, with both fishing methods being preferred by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch.

Plus, when you look at the ingredients list on a plain can of albacore tuna, you'll find precisely one item: tuna, with no water, oil, salt, vegetable oil, or preservatives added. Additionally, American Tuna products are loaded with omega-3 fatty acids, a fact the brand credits to its cooking process, as the hand-packed tuna is cooked only once while it's in the can. Admittedly, this brand is on the pricey side — it may cost over $50 for a six-pack of 6-ounce American Tuna wild albacore cans on Amazon — but you get what you pay for. 

Despite being a very popular tuna brand, Chicken of the Sea may be doing itself a disservice with its creative name and marketing — who wants a can of tuna that's indistinguishable from chicken? This company has been in operation since 1914, and according to the Chicken of the Sea website,  the brand launched an initiative to become more sustainable by 2030. This endeavor includes releasing a yearly sustainability report to provide public accountability, but it's worth noting that as of this article's publication time in late 2024, the most recent "annual" report was issued in 2022 — which begs the question: What's been going on for the last two years?

Beyond sustainability, Chicken of the Sea has received criticism online for its taste and texture — this may be partly due to the fact that the brand's oil-packed chunk light tuna is made with soybean oil rather than olive oil. Looking past the brand's tuna, Chicken of the Sea recently came under fire for plastic chemicals allegedly discovered in its salmon products. A Consumer Reports study found that these products contain high levels of phthalates, which have been linked to negative health issues. 

While light canned tuna isn't listed among types of fish with the highest mercury content, it may still contain enough mercury that certain people — like children, or those who are pregnant — should watch how much canned tuna they consume. Knowing this, Safe Catch goes the extra mile to ensure that its tuna has the lowest mercury content possible. In fact, the company claims that its products have the lowest mercury levels among all tuna brands. It achieves this by testing every single fish that it processes, and ensuring that the levels of mercury in its tuna are much less than the Food and Drug Administration's recommended limit. As such, Safe Catch has gained status as the recommended tuna brand of the American Pregnancy Association.

Additionally, Safe Catch tuna is sustainably caught, dolphin safe, and free of additives. The one downside? Some of its tuna is caught in the Indian Ocean, which environmental watchdog groups warn is overfished, as fishing practices in the region are alleged to be managed ineffectively. 

If ever there was a canned tuna brand perfect for adding tinned fish on a charcuterie board, it's the relatively recently established Fishwife, woman-founded in 2020. Fishwife's tuna comes packaged in a colorful, fun box (don't worry; there's a can inside the cardboard), and every aspect of this canned tuna screams "luxe." The albacore tuna is caught in Europe's Bay of Biscay, and only during June, July, and August, which the brand says is when the tuna is at its highest quality. Then, the tuna is hand-packed with Spanish olive oil and salt in an artisanal cannery.

Online reviews insist that this brand's products are definitely worth the price, and while the strong flavors that Fishwife offers may not be for everyone, many seafood fans love them. The albacore tuna also comes in a spicy variant, with the olive oil blended with hot paprika, cayenne, white pepper, and garlic. However, due to the added salt, you will see a bit more sodium in this canned tuna than in other options; while it's not as much as what you might find in lower-quality brands like Great Value or Bumble Bee, a can of Fishwife's albacore tuna does still account for 12% of your daily recommended sodium intake. 

With many canned products, you can opt for a cheaper store brand, save a few cents, and enjoy a product of equal quality. However, that's not the case with tuna — at least not if you're considering buying Walmart's Great Value tuna.

One of the big red flags you'll find on a can of Great Value tuna is the warning that this product could contain traces of soy, and is made in a facility that handles milk, eggs, shrimp, coconut, wheat, and sesame. Not only does this cause concern for those with food allergies, but it also raises the risk of exposure to ingredients and packaging processes that may not align with your health priorities or values.

Additionally, some of Walmart's canned tuna, like the solid white albacore tuna packed in water, contains sodium pyrophosphate. This additive has been linked to health issues such as cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, and other ailments. 

If you're looking for a high-quality canned tuna that is affordable, consider Whole Foods Market's 365 store brand. The supermarket chain offers MSC-certified sustainable albacore wild tuna that's pole-and-line caught, and traceable from ship to store shelf. Each can only contains tuna and water, and the product is dolphin safe. In fact, Whole Foods Market is so committed to its tuna's sustainability, that in 2017 the brand announced a new sourcing policy for vetting not just its own store-brand tuna, but all canned tuna sold at the chain.

With this in mind, since a can of 365 albacore tuna available on Amazon costs just about $3.50 — and its ingredients list only contains tuna chunks, water, and sea salt — you can't really beat the price combined with the quality. While this tuna may not offer the same fillet-like texture or the pronounced flavor you might find with one of the pricier brands, it makes a great choice for incorporating into dishes like tuna quesadillas, tuna pasta, or a tuna melt. 

As another brand that blends affordability with quality, Target's own Good & Gather products include a mix of tuna options. While the solid white albacore tuna is MSC-certified as sustainable, do note that it's long-line caught, which isn't one of the preferred fishing methods of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch.

As such, you might opt for one of the brand's other tuna varieties, like the premium wild chunk white albacore, which is specifically marked as being pole-and-line caught and dolphin safe, with its ingredients list consisting solely of tuna, water, and sea salt. This tuna, however, is not branded with the MSC stamp of approval, so you'll have to decide which mark of sustainability is more important to you. Additionally, the premium variant is slightly more expensive than the aforementioned Good & Gather solid white albacore tuna, but the cheaper version fills out its ingredients with vegetable broth and sodium acid pyrophosphate, so the extra cost might be well worthwhile. 

The history of Costco's successful Kirkland Signature brand is based on some seriously great products, which provided the foundation for a cult following of shoppers. However, not every Kirkland product is worth the hype, as is the case with the brand's canned tuna. 

In 2022, Costco was slapped with a class-action lawsuit that claimed its Kirkland Signature albacore solid white tuna in water was not truly dolphin safe, as was stated on the label. Costco's apparent response? Just remove that wording from the label. Nowadays, you won't find any information about dolphin safety on the product's packaging. While this tuna is labeled as wild caught, not all wild-caught tuna is considered to be sustainable, because the tuna could still be sourced from overexploited stock or caught in a manner harmful to other marine life, including dolphins.

Additionally, Kirkland Signature albacore solid white tuna contains sodium acid pyrophosphate, a preservative that has been linked to immune-system issues and low bone density. 

Pole & Line tuna doesn't make you go to the brand's website and type in a code to find out more about where your tuna was caught and who caught it. It lists that information right on the can, including the catch location and year, as well as the fishing vessel and its captain. As the brand name suggests, Pole & Line uses pole-and-line fishing techniques to catch tuna one-by-one. The brand boasts MSC sustainability certification, dolphin-safe status, and a quality certification from the American Albacore Fishing Association.

The brand does source some of its fish from the Maldives, which means that the company's practices deviate from recommendations by environmental organizations against purchasing fish caught in the overfished Indian Ocean. However, if you want to avoid this region's fish, you can do so by simply purchasing Pole & Line's Pacific-caught albacore tuna, not skipjack tuna products sourced from the Indian Ocean. 

Ocean's offers a good range of canned tuna, from pole-and-line-caught white albacore in flaked or solid form to chunk light skipjack. The brand also sells snack kits and flavored varieties. Which product you pick will depend on what you're prioritizing, but according to the company, every product that Ocean's offers is sourced with a goal of maximizing sustainability and quality.

In all of its processing practices, Ocean's strives toward achieving plastic neutrality, which means that to compensate for all plastic used by the brand in its operations, the company invests in removing plastic pollution from the environment. The brand is also B Corp certified, a status that ensures the company isn't just taking care of the planet, but is also taking care of its employees by providing fair wages. There are only a few thousand companies with B Corp certification in the entire world. 

Despite its ubiquity in supermarket tuna aisles, StarKist has been mired in controversy for years. In 2019, StarKist was included in a class-action lawsuit alleging that the brand's dolphin-safe claims were false. These days, the StarKist website claims that the company condemns "indiscriminate fishing methods that trap dolphins, whales, and other marine life along with the intended catch of fish." However, you won't see certifications from MSC or other independent sustainability-focused organizations on StarKist packaging, which some shoppers may find a little fishy (pardon the pun).

Additionally, some customers say they're not getting what they pay for when buying StarKist cans of tuna. Recently, StarKist paid $200 million in a lawsuit claiming the brand was overcharging consumers via a price-fixing conspiracy. In another instance, one Redditor claimed that each can of StarKist contains 30% less tuna by weight than what the label states, going so far as to measure out the tuna in their recently purchased cans to back up the allegation. 

These canned tuna brands were determined to provide the highest or lowest quality based on varied factors, with sustainability being a primary consideration, including the fishing and processing practices and areas of operation that different companies utilize. Ingredients were also a major consideration, such as if brands use unnecessary additives that could impact a product's nutritional content or pose a health risk for certain populations. Online reports and buyer reviews about each product's taste and texture were also factored in. 

Brands that pledge to follow sustainable and safe fishing practices, as well as those using fewer additives and garnering more positive reviews, were ranked as providing the highest quality. Tuna producers with somewhat suspect sustainability claims, as well as those using potentially undesirable additives and earning many negative reviews, were ranked among the lowest-quality brands.

Static Media owns and operates The Takeout and Mashed.