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Can I eat canned tuna while pregnant?

Check Doola Scan's answer in the United States

Canned tuna, light or albacore, shows Check in Doola Scan in all six countries: the check is your country's weekly limit, set for mercury. Canned light tuna, which includes skipjack, has the higher limit: the FDA lists it among its Best Choices, Health Canada sets no limit, and Health NZ calls skipjack unrestricted. Albacore, or white tuna, is lower: 1 serving a week in the US and up to 300 g in Canada. The NHS and Ireland count cans, not types: 4 cans a week in the UK, 2 in Ireland.

Checked against Doola Scan's pregnancy rules · Updated

  • Canned light or skipjack tuna

    CheckIn all six countries

  • Canned albacore (white) tuna

    CheckIn all six countries

  • Tuna sandwich or tuna melt made at home

    CheckIn all six countries
Doola Scan checking a plate
What each country says

Canned tuna while pregnant: what each country says.

Each country's own pregnancy guidance on canned tuna, with a link to it. Doola Scan uses your country's first.

  • United States

    Check
    • FDAFish is recommended but amounts limit mercury exposure.Source
    • ACOGLimit white (albacore) tuna to 6 oz a week; do not eat bigeye tuna.Source
    • FDACanned light tuna is Best Choice (2-3 servings a week); albacore and yellowfin only 1 serving and no other fish that week; bigeye avoid.Source
    • FDAHigher mercury than Best Choices.Source

  • United Kingdom

    Check
    • NHSTrying for a baby or pregnant: max 2 oily fish portions (140g) a week; tuna max 4 cans or 2 steaks a week.Source
    • NHSTuna contains more mercury than most fish.Source
    • NHSTrying for a baby or pregnant: no more than 4 cans or 2 tuna steaks a week; other species not limited.Source

  • Canada

    Check
    • Health CanadaLow-mercury fish encouraged with no weekly amount; limit only fresh/frozen tuna, shark, swordfish, marlin, orange roughy, escolar.Source
    • CPSAvoid fresh or frozen tuna; canned albacore up to 300 g a week; canned light tuna not limited.Source
    • Health CanadaCanned albacore up to 300 g a week; canned light tuna not limited; fresh/frozen tuna up to 150 g a month.Source
    • Health CanadaCanned albacore tuna up to 300 g a week; other moderate fish not limited.Source

  • Australia

    Check
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)Other fish or seafood no more than 2 to 3 times a week (150 g serve).Source
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)Tuna falls under other fish: no more than 2 to 3 times a week.Source
    • FSANZ1 portion (150 g) a week of orange roughy or catfish and no other fish that week.Source

  • New Zealand

    Check
    • Health NZMost commonly eaten NZ fish can be eaten freely; low-mercury species need no restriction.Source
    • Health NZSkipjack tuna unrestricted; albacore 3-4 servings a week; southern bluefin one serving per 1-2 weeks.Source
    • Health NZLonger-lived fish (snapper, albacore, farmed salmon, kahawai, red cod, ling) less than 3-4 times a week.Source

  • Ireland

    Check
    • FSAIPregnant, breastfeeding, childbearing age, young children: max 1 fresh tuna steak (~225 g) or 2 medium cans (225 g) per week.Source
    • HSETuna max one 150 g cooked fresh steak or two 240 g cans (140 g drained) per week.Source
What to check

Before you eat canned tuna.

  1. In the US, choose light tuna for most of your fish

    The FDA lists canned light tuna, including skipjack, as a Best Choice and suggests 8 to 12 ounces of Best Choices a week, a serving being 4 ounces. Albacore is a Good Choice: 1 serving a week and no other fish that week. ACOG limits white albacore tuna to 6 ounces a week. FDA

  2. In Canada, limit albacore, not light tuna

    Health Canada says canned albacore up to 300 g a week and canned light tuna not limited. Its limit of 150 g a month is for fresh or frozen tuna, not cans. Health Canada

  3. In the UK and Ireland, count the cans

    The NHS says no more than 4 cans of tuna a week if you are pregnant or trying for a baby. Ireland's FSAI says 2 medium cans (225 g) a week, and the HSE two 240 g cans, 140 g drained each. NHS

  4. In Australia and New Zealand, count tuna with your fish

    Pregnancy, Birth and Baby counts tuna with other fish, no more than 2 to 3 times a week. Health NZ says skipjack is unrestricted and albacore 3 to 4 servings a week. Health NZ

Questions

About canned tuna
in pregnancy.

It depends on your country and the type. US: light tuna within 8 to 12 ounces of Best Choices a week, albacore 1 serving. UK: 4 cans a week. Canada: light not limited, albacore 300 g. Ireland: 2 cans a week.

The FDA, Health Canada and Health NZ all give light or skipjack tuna a higher limit than albacore, which has more mercury in the FDA's chart. The NHS and Ireland's FSAI set one limit for all canned tuna.

Canned tuna shows Check in all six countries straight from the can. Health NZ says canned fish is OK in pregnancy, and the check is the weekly limit, not cooking.

A tuna sandwich or tuna melt made at home shows Check in all six countries, for the tuna limit. Tuna salad bought from a deli is a different case: Avoid in the US, Canada, Australia and Ireland.

The FDA lists canned light tuna among its Best Choices and says fish supply protein, vitamin B12, vitamin D and selenium. The NHS notes that canned tuna does not count as oily fish.

The guidance is the same in every trimester. Your country's weekly limit applies from the first weeks to the last.

Yes. Take a photo of the can's label, and Doola Scan checks the tuna named on it, light, skipjack or albacore, against your country's pregnancy guidance. Food scans are free, 3 a day.
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Point Doola at a plate, a menu or a label. It checks every ingredient against your country's pregnancy guidance and shows its sources. Food scans are free, 3 a day.

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Doola shows what official guidance says; it never diagnoses. No known issues means none of these countries' pregnancy guidance names it, not a promise that a food is safe.