Healthiest Canned Fish to Eat: A Buying Guide | Mercury Rules That Decide

Canned light tuna, salmon, sardines, anchovies, and Atlantic mackerel are the lowest-mercury picks; canned albacore belongs in smaller weekly portions.

Two cans look identical but carry wildly different mercury loads. FDA testing averages canned light tuna at 0.13 ppm methylmercury and canned albacore at 0.35 ppm — nearly three times as much for the product most shoppers treat as the upgrade. The healthiest canned fish depends less on brand or price than on which species is in the can and how often you eat it.

Four things drive the decision: mercury, omega-3s, sodium, and what else is packed in. Here is what federal guidance says and how to translate it into a grocery cart.

What The FDA’s Mercury Tiers Mean

The FDA sorts fish into “Best Choices,” “Good Choices,” and “Choices to Avoid” by average mercury content — the fastest label shortcut you have.

“Best Choices” covers roughly 90 percent of the fish Americans eat, including light tuna, salmon, sardines, anchovies, and Atlantic mackerel. “Good Choices” means more mercury and less frequent eating — canned albacore, or white tuna, is the one you’ll meet most in the canned aisle.

One naming trap causes confusion. “Light” tuna is usually skipjack, a smaller, shorter-lived fish that accumulates less mercury. “White” or “albacore” is bigger and longer-lived, holding more. The labels reflect a real species difference, and FDA numbers back it up. The same agency notes tuna steak generally runs higher in mercury than canned light tuna, so the light can is the safer tuna default.

Does Draining Or Cooking Reduce Mercury?

No. Mercury binds into muscle tissue, so rinsing, draining, or cooking does not lower what you swallow; the FDA states cleaning or cooking does not reduce mercury. That kills the most common internet remedy. Draining is still worth doing for sodium and calories, but treat it as texture and nutrition, never safety. The only lever that works is what you buy and how often you eat it.

How Much Canned Fish Per Week

Federal guidance sets 12 ounces weekly for a variety of lower-mercury fish and shellfish, with albacore capped separately at 6 ounces.

Twelve ounces is roughly two to three standard 5-ounce cans a week if light tuna, salmon, or sardines is your routine. Albacore’s cap is about one 5-ounce can plus a little — best treated as an occasional can, not a daily lunch.

Children and people who are pregnant, might become pregnant, or are nursing should pull only from “Best Choices,” and kids get smaller portions. The FDA’s reasoning: those groups should reach recommended fish intake while keeping mercury exposure as low as possible.

The FDA’s full advice lays out the complete species list and portion guidance: FDA’s advice about eating fish.

What Mercury Tiers Don’t Tell You

The tier list is a mercury ranking, not a nutrition score. Sodium, packing liquid, and added ingredients still decide whether a can is a good everyday choice.

Sardines and anchovies are often packed in oil with salt, and those small fish frequently come with bones that add calcium. Salmon brings the omega-3 profile most shoppers want. Light tuna is lean and mild but relatively light on omega-3. Two cans can share a “Best Choice” label and still differ a lot in sodium per serving, so read the panel rather than the tier alone.

For specific tested cans, our tested canned fish picks compares brands by mercury, sodium, and packing liquid. For mercury risk, canned light tuna and the small fish — sardines, anchovies, Atlantic mackerel — carry the lowest exposure, and canned salmon matches them while adding the strongest omega-3 content of the group.