Heavy metals in Canned Tuna

Canned Tuna overview

Canned Tuna in the HMI library has 1,099 reported results for lead, cadmium, total arsenic, inorganic arsenic, total mercury, methylmercury, inorganic mercury, nickel, chromium, aluminium, tin, antimony, uranium, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn, V, Se, Ag, As, Ba, Be, Ca, Hg-inorganic, Mo, Sr and Ti from 45 sources.^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →2U.S. Food and Drug Administration · 2022FY2018-FY2020 TDS Elements Analytical ResultsFDA Total Diet StudyRead source →3Anwar S H, Hifdha R W, Rohaya S, Hasan H · 2021Quality of Canned Tuna from Aceh Water Sterilized Using a Pressure CannerJurnal Pascapanen dan Bioteknologi Kelautan dan PerikananRead source →4de Lima NV, de Padua Melo ES, Arakaki DG, Tschinkel PFS, de Souza ID, Ulbrecht MOO, dos Reis FJM, Rosa ACG, Rosa RH, do Nascimento VA · 2021Data on metals, nonmetal, and metalloid in the samples of the canned tuna and canned sardines sold in BrazilData in BriefRead source →5Gladys Aquino Hancco, Carlos Javier Solano Salinas, Pedro Munante Gomez, Luis Alberto Lopez Avila · 2026Determination Of Mercury, Cadmium, And Lead Levels In Canned Tuna And Fish Marketed In Central Lima, Peru, Using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry: Implications For Public HealthInternational Journal of Advanced Signal and Image SciencesRead source →6Islamoglu AH, Kahvecioglu T, Bonce G, Gedik E, Gunes FE · 2021Determination of Heavy Metals in Some Fruits, Vegetables and Fish by ICP-MSEurasian Journal of Food Science and Technology 5(1):67-76Read source →} WHO GEMS/Food submissions reported lead in canned Tuna, as sold from 1,077 results in 3 reporting regions, with subgroup medians below 12 µg/kg, mostly non-detects.^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →} In the US Total Diet Study, canned Tuna, canned had a median lead result below 4 µg/kg across 3 composites from 2018–2020.^{2U.S. Food and Drug Administration · 2022FY2018-FY2020 TDS Elements Analytical ResultsFDA Total Diet StudyRead source →}

Across 9 other studies of ordinary farms and markets, reported lead means and medians on an as-sold or fresh-weight basis ranged from 3 µg/kg (Ulusoy 2023) to 830 µg/kg (Ulusoy 2023).^{8Ulusoy S · 2023Determination of toxic metals in canned tuna sold in developed and developing countries: Health risk assessment associated with human consumptionMarine Pollution BulletinRead source →} For cadmium, 11 studies on an as-sold or fresh-weight basis reported means and medians from 1 µg/kg (Kosker et al. 2023) to 246 µg/kg (Korfali et al. 2013).^{9Kosker AR, Gundogdu S, Esatbeyoglu T, Ayas D, Ozogul F · 2023Metal levels of canned fish sold in Türkiye: health risk assessmentFrontiers in NutritionRead source →10Korfali SI, Abou Hamdan W · 2013Essentail and Toxic Metals in Lebanese Marketed Canned Food: Impact of Metal CansJournal of Food Research 2(1) (2013) 19-30Read source →} Higher results came from contaminated or exposed settings rather than ordinary supply. Canned Tuna, canned from sauce-packed had total mercury higher at 380 µg/kg, against 153 µg/kg for water-packed in the same study.^{7Rüstemli N, Tuncay R M · 2026Mineral and heavy metal content in canned tuna: Implications for veterinary public health and consumer safetyVeterinary Research CommunicationsRead source →}

For a buyer the practical points are the form bought, the basis a result is reported on, where the canned Tuna came from and the laboratory’s reporting limit. Testing finds contamination but does not remove it.

What counts as canned Tuna

This page covers canned Tuna in 5 forms kept separate in every comparison: canned Tuna, canned (764 results), canned Tuna, oil (270 results), canned Tuna, as sold (63 results), canned Tuna, frozen (1 result) and canned Tuna, peeled or flesh (1 result).^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →2U.S. Food and Drug Administration · 2022FY2018-FY2020 TDS Elements Analytical ResultsFDA Total Diet StudyRead source →3Anwar S H, Hifdha R W, Rohaya S, Hasan H · 2021Quality of Canned Tuna from Aceh Water Sterilized Using a Pressure CannerJurnal Pascapanen dan Bioteknologi Kelautan dan PerikananRead source →4de Lima NV, de Padua Melo ES, Arakaki DG, Tschinkel PFS, de Souza ID, Ulbrecht MOO, dos Reis FJM, Rosa ACG, Rosa RH, do Nascimento VA · 2021Data on metals, nonmetal, and metalloid in the samples of the canned tuna and canned sardines sold in BrazilData in BriefRead source →5Gladys Aquino Hancco, Carlos Javier Solano Salinas, Pedro Munante Gomez, Luis Alberto Lopez Avila · 2026Determination Of Mercury, Cadmium, And Lead Levels In Canned Tuna And Fish Marketed In Central Lima, Peru, Using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry: Implications For Public HealthInternational Journal of Advanced Signal and Image SciencesRead source →6Islamoglu AH, Kahvecioglu T, Bonce G, Gedik E, Gunes FE · 2021Determination of Heavy Metals in Some Fruits, Vegetables and Fish by ICP-MSEurasian Journal of Food Science and Technology 5(1):67-76Read source →}

Results stay on the basis each source reports: as sold or fresh weight, dry weight, or unstated. Dry-weight, as-sold and unstated results are never pooled, and no moisture conversion is applied.

Heavy metal contamination profile of canned Tuna

The table holds every extracted canned Tuna result: one row for each statistic a source reports for a form, group and metal, 1,099 rows in all, grouped by metal and form; percentiles, ranges and maxima for the same samples as a mean or median are shown on that row.^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →2U.S. Food and Drug Administration · 2022FY2018-FY2020 TDS Elements Analytical ResultsFDA Total Diet StudyRead source →3Anwar S H, Hifdha R W, Rohaya S, Hasan H · 2021Quality of Canned Tuna from Aceh Water Sterilized Using a Pressure CannerJurnal Pascapanen dan Bioteknologi Kelautan dan PerikananRead source →4de Lima NV, de Padua Melo ES, Arakaki DG, Tschinkel PFS, de Souza ID, Ulbrecht MOO, dos Reis FJM, Rosa ACG, Rosa RH, do Nascimento VA · 2021Data on metals, nonmetal, and metalloid in the samples of the canned tuna and canned sardines sold in BrazilData in BriefRead source →5Gladys Aquino Hancco, Carlos Javier Solano Salinas, Pedro Munante Gomez, Luis Alberto Lopez Avila · 2026Determination Of Mercury, Cadmium, And Lead Levels In Canned Tuna And Fish Marketed In Central Lima, Peru, Using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry: Implications For Public HealthInternational Journal of Advanced Signal and Image SciencesRead source →6Islamoglu AH, Kahvecioglu T, Bonce G, Gedik E, Gunes FE · 2021Determination of Heavy Metals in Some Fruits, Vegetables and Fish by ICP-MSEurasian Journal of Food Science and Technology 5(1):67-76Read source →} Monitoring medians are HMI calculations from individual submissions; non-detects remain intervals between zero and the reporting limit and are never read as zero.^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →}

322 rows can be rated against an HMI reference for the same form and basis, 323 rows have a direct same-study comparison, and the rest stay unrated with the reason recorded. 76 values from 11 sources failed a check against their own source and are shown but not compared.^{4de Lima NV, de Padua Melo ES, Arakaki DG, Tschinkel PFS, de Souza ID, Ulbrecht MOO, dos Reis FJM, Rosa ACG, Rosa RH, do Nascimento VA · 2021Data on metals, nonmetal, and metalloid in the samples of the canned tuna and canned sardines sold in BrazilData in BriefRead source →5Gladys Aquino Hancco, Carlos Javier Solano Salinas, Pedro Munante Gomez, Luis Alberto Lopez Avila · 2026Determination Of Mercury, Cadmium, And Lead Levels In Canned Tuna And Fish Marketed In Central Lima, Peru, Using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry: Implications For Public HealthInternational Journal of Advanced Signal and Image SciencesRead source →8Ulusoy S · 2023Determination of toxic metals in canned tuna sold in developed and developing countries: Health risk assessment associated with human consumptionMarine Pollution BulletinRead source →11Hussien NA, Mohammadein A, Tantawy EM, Khattab Y, Al Malki JS · 2021Investigating microplastics and potentially toxic elements contamination in canned Tuna, Salmon, and Sardine fishes from Taif markets, KSAOpen Life Sciences 2021; 16: 827-837Read source →12Pappalardo AM, Copat C, Ferrito V, Grasso A, Ferrante M · 2017Heavy metal content and molecular species identification in canned tuna: Insights into human food safetyMolecular Medicine ReportsRead source →13Aguilar-Miranda A, Fernández L, Yánez-Jácome GS, Alcoser-Pinto B, Zambrano H, Paz-Suconota F, Espinoza-Montero P · 2024Total mercury exposure through canned tuna in water sold in Quito, EcuadorScientific ReportsRead source →14Unknown authors · 2022Validation of Determination by Icp-Oes Method of Mercury Residual Levels inPeer-reviewed articleRead source →15Pawlaczyk A, Przerywacz A, Gajek M, Szynkowska-Jozwik MI · 2020Risk of Mercury Ingestion from Canned Fish in PolandMoleculesRead source →16Bushanati NM · 2024Estimation of heavy metals content, microbiological and physico-chemical characteristics of canned tuna fish from some local markets in Derna cityDerna Academy Journal for Applied Sciences 1(1): 24-31Read source →17Lima de Paiva E, Morgano MA, Milani RF · 2017Cadmium, lead, tin, total mercury, and methylmercury in canned tuna commercialised in São Paulo, BrazilFood Additives & Contaminants: Part B, Vol. 10, No. 3, pp 185–191Read source →18Rodriguez-Mendivil DD, Garcia-Flores E, Temores-Pena J, Wakida FT · 2019Health Risk Assessment of Some Heavy Metals from Canned Tuna and Fish in Tijuana, MexicoHealth ScopeRead source →}