Canned tuna is probably the most trusted protein in your pantry — and that trust is almost entirely misplaced. Americans eat roughly 2.2 pounds of the stuff per person per year, which makes it the third most consumed seafood in the country. And yet most of us crack open a can without a second thought about where it came from, how it was handled, or whether the brand behind it has a track record of, say, sending contaminated fish into grocery stores across multiple states. Some brands have earned that trust. Others absolutely have not.
So Which Brand Is the Worst Offender?
If you’ve spent any time reading about tuna recalls, one name keeps showing up like a bad penny: Tri-Union Seafoods. They’re the company behind Chicken of the Sea, one of the biggest and most recognizable tuna brands in America. They’ve been involved in not one, not two, but at least three major recalls over the past fifteen years. That’s a pattern, not a fluke. And the problems range from undercooked canned tuna to compromised seal integrity — which, in tuna terms, can mean botulism. Yeah. That botulism.
The 2025 Recall Hit Basically Every Store You Shop At
In February 2025, Tri-Union Seafoods issued a massive recall affecting canned tuna sold at Trader Joe’s, Costco, Safeway, Walmart, and Publix. Multiple brand names were involved — Genova, H-E-B, Trader Joe’s store brand, and Van Camp’s — because Tri-Union manufactures for a bunch of different labels. The problem was a defect in the pull tab lid that compromised the can’s seal. When a canned seafood seal fails, you’re not just looking at a gross lunch. You’re potentially looking at botulism, a rare but serious form of food poisoning that can hospitalize you for weeks or worse.
The sheer number of retailers affected makes this one especially unsettling. You could’ve been buying what you thought were totally different brands, all coming from the same manufacturer with the same defective lids.
Wait, Didn’t They Have a Problem Before That?
Oh, they sure did. Back in 2016, Tri-Union Seafoods recalled over 107,000 cans of Chicken of the Sea chunk light tuna because the fish was potentially undercooked. An equipment malfunction had compromised the sterilization process — and the problem wasn’t caught until about a month after the cans had already shipped to retailers nationwide. So for roughly four weeks, people were eating canned tuna that may not have been properly cooked. The company’s VP of Quality and Compliance said they replaced the faulty part, as if that should make everyone feel better.
Undercooked canned tuna is a uniquely disturbing concept. You open the can expecting a fully shelf-stable product and instead get something that might as well be par-raw fish you didn’t sign up for.
And Then There’s 2010
Go back even further and you’ll find Tri-Union Seafoods on the recall list again in 2010. That time, the issue was with cans that basically couldn’t maintain their integrity — think swelling, off smells, and the kind of thing that signals something has gone very wrong inside a sealed metal container. When your canned tuna smells like it was dragged through a fish auction, something in the process broke down. Three separate recalls over fifteen years from the same manufacturer is enough to make anyone reconsider grabbing that familiar can off the shelf.
Does Chicken of the Sea Even Taste Good?
Setting aside safety concerns for a second — no, not really. In a blind taste ranking of grocery store canned tuna, Chicken of the Sea landed dead last out of fourteen brands. The reviewer described it as “bone-dry on the palate” and “completely leached of flavor.” Opening the can revealed a puddle of water with sad pink tuna bits floating in it. The verdict was blunt: no amount of mayo or cheese could save it. At $1.16 for a 5-ounce can, it’s cheap. But cheap and terrible with a side of recall history isn’t exactly a winning combination.
Bumble Bee Isn’t Much Better, Honestly
Bumble Bee often gets lumped in as the other “big brand” option next to Chicken of the Sea and StarKist. But it has its own baggage. The company was caught up in a price fixing scandal in 2017 and declared bankruptcy in 2019. And the product itself? Reviewers describe a “sawdust-like flavor” and dry texture. One person on a cooking forum bought Bumble Bee albacore from Publix and was so disgusted by the slimy, fishy taste that she considered giving the remaining cans to her cat. Which, honestly, is kind of the ultimate review.
Forum users on cooking discussion boards have consistently complained about Bumble Bee’s quality, especially compared to store brands like Costco’s Kirkland, which fans describe as white, firm, sweet-tasting, and packed so tightly you have to work to get it out of the can.
Why Does 90% of Our Tuna Come From Overseas?
About 90% of the tuna sold in American grocery stores is imported. That’s a staggering number. And here’s the kicker — the FDA only physically inspects roughly 2% of imported seafood. Two percent. So you’ve got massive volumes of fish coming in from countries where food safety oversight may be more of a suggestion than a law, and barely anyone is checking what arrives. This is how you get situations like Moon Marine USA in 2012, where imported frozen tuna from India caused Salmonella outbreaks across 28 states and the District of Columbia. Four hundred and twenty-five people got sick. Fifty-five were hospitalized.
The FDA eventually banned the Indian supplier from exporting to the U.S. But that was after 58,828 pounds of contaminated yellowfin had already made it into the country.
Raw Tuna and the Grocery Store Sushi Problem
Canned tuna isn’t the only concern. If you’ve ever grabbed a poke bowl or spicy tuna roll from the supermarket deli, you might want to know about Osamu Corporation. In 2015, their imported frozen yellowfin tuna was linked to Salmonella outbreaks in 11 states that sickened 65 people. The tuna had been sold in bulk to grocery stores and restaurants, then used to make sushi. Eleven people ended up in the hospital.
That same company had problems in 2011, too. FDA testing found decomposition and elevated histamine levels in their frozen ground tuna. By the time the recall was issued, three people had already gotten scombroid fish poisoning from grocery store sushi. Scombroid isn’t fatal, usually, but it involves flushing, headaches, cramps, and diarrhea — all from tuna that looked perfectly fine sitting in a plastic tray.
Histamine, Hepatitis, and Other Fun Surprises
Tuna is uniquely prone to histamine buildup. If the fish isn’t kept cold enough at any point during harvesting, transport, or processing — and we’re talking about a supply chain that might span from Indonesia to Vietnam to Canada to your grocery store — histamine levels can spike. Eating high-histamine fish causes scombroid poisoning, which mimics an allergic reaction. Your face gets red. Your stomach revolts. It’s not fun.
Then there’s the Hepatitis A incident. In 2017, Tropic Fish Hawaii had to pull imported frozen ahi cubes from stores across Hawaii after they tested positive for Hepatitis A. The tuna came from an Indonesian supplier that the FDA subsequently slapped with an import alert. Even Hawaiian tuna, sourced from a state literally surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, was actually imported from Southeast Asia. So much for origin assumptions.
What Should You Actually Buy Instead?
If you want to avoid the worst of the worst, the answer is pretty simple. Skip Chicken of the Sea. Approach Bumble Bee with skepticism. And pay a little more attention to what you’re grabbing off the shelf. Based on taste tests and consumer feedback, here are some options that consistently rank higher. Target’s Good & Gather solid white albacore ($2.19 for 5 ounces) gets praise for having a nice salt balance and a texture that isn’t bone-dry. StarKist’s yellowfin in extra virgin olive oil ($1.98) delivers strong tuna flavor without tipping into fishy territory. And Costco’s Kirkland brand is basically a cult favorite among canned tuna enthusiasts — a group that exists and is surprisingly passionate.
Olive oil-packed tuna, regardless of brand, tends to perform better in taste tests than water-packed. The oil keeps the texture moist and adds richness. Multiple forum users and professional reviewers agree on this. If you’ve only ever bought tuna in water, switching to olive oil might genuinely change how you feel about canned fish.
A Quick Gut Check Before Your Next Can
So about that trusted pantry protein. Americans consume over 2.2 pounds of tuna per person per year, mostly without a second thought. But the brand you reach for matters — not just for flavor, but for safety. One company behind one of the most recognizable names in tuna has racked up three major recalls in fifteen years, and their product finished last in a taste test on top of it. Sometimes the cheapest can on the shelf is cheap for a reason. Read the label, check for recent recalls, and maybe spend the extra dollar. Your stomach will thank you.
