Tuna in oil is considered the meal saver par excellence, a practical food that does not need to be filleted or cooked. It is ready to use as is regardless of the packaging: glass jar or box – can.
The quickest response to the desire to eat fish-based food without having to turn on the stove.
There are many recipes that involve opening the famous “little box”, from rice salad to sandwiches and pasta.
The tuna can be natural, i.e. preserved in its own cooking water, or in oil. The best products are those with olive oil, even extra virgin, but seed oils are also used.
Products that use a smaller quantity of oil are preferable, because they are less caloric and more ecological, as excess oil is usually thrown down the sink.
On the supermarket shelves, the choice is vast.
In the consumption of an apparently harmless product there is no shortage of contraindications linked above all to the environment (environmental impact of fishing, origin of the catch) and to healthiness (quantity of salt and oil, presence of mercury).
This is why the test conducted by Altroconsumo experts in large-scale retail trade, with an attached ranking of the best tuna in oil to take home, is very useful.
For example, it turns out that among the 30 brands tested, some with low prices are among the best in the test.
Based on the most recent ISTAT data, a third of Italians consume tuna in oil on average 2 – 3 times a week. Let’s talk about one of the products that most often enters our shopping carts.
With such continuous consumption it becomes important to read the nutritional information available on the label.
Calories: “drained” tuna in oil provides just under 200 kcal per 100 g.
Property: canned tuna provides a good amount of protein (about 25 g/100 g) and a fairly limited amount of fat.
Even better is “natural” tuna, which provides less than 1% fat because, obviously, it does not contain oil.
As a processed food, tuna in oil is full of salt. A problem which, in recent times, has led to the production of versions with reduced content of the substance. Those suffering from hypertension or other pathologies, for example osteoporosis, should take them into consideration.
Altroconsumo: the best brands in the tuna in oil test
Promoted. Here are the best samples of canned or jarred tuna in oil tested by Altroconsumo with the brands, the average price per kilo.
Better than the Altroconsumo test with 74 points out of 100, excellent quality
RIO MARE TUNA IN OLIVE OIL FISHED BY CANE
- Format: 4 x 80 g
- Sustainability certification: Dolphin Safe
- Average price €6.13 per pack
Better than the Altroconsumo test with 72 points out of 100, excellent quality
COOP FIORFIORE TUNA FILLETS YELLOWFIN
- Format: 200 g
- Sustainability certification: none
- Average price €5.41 per pack
Best purchase in the Altroconsumo test (i.e. best value for money) with 69 points out of 100, good quality
ONDINA (EUROSPIN) TUNA FILLETS IN OLIVE OIL
- Format: 260 g
- Sustainability certification: Dolphin Safe
- Average price €4.81 per pack
The brands of tuna in oil that did the worst
Failed. These, however, are the samples of tuna in oil tested by Altroconsumo that performed worse.
AS DO MAR WHOLE TUNA SLICE IN OLIVE OIL (59 points, medium quality)
- Format: 3 x 80 g
- Sustainability certification: Friend of the Sea
- Average price €4.93 per pack
MAREBLU TUNA IN OLIVE OIL LESS OIL (55 points, medium quality)
- Format: 4 x 60 g
- Sustainability certification: Dolphin Safe and Sea Change Sustainability
- Average price €4.53 per pack
NIXE (LIDL) TUNA IN OLIVE OIL (55 points, medium quality)
- Format: 4 x 70 g
- Sustainability certification: Dolphin Safe
- Average price €3.15 per pack
Here are all the other brands of tuna in oil in cans or glass jars tested by Altroconsumo with the scores obtained
- CONSORCIO TUNA IN OLIVE OIL (70 points)
- AS DO MAR TUNA FILLETS IN OLIVE OIL (68 points)
- RIO MARE HANDMADE TUNA FILLETS (68 points)
- NOSTROMO TUNA IN EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL WITH LOW SALT (67 points)
- CONAD TUNA IN OLIVE OIL (67 points)
- AS DO MAR TUNA IN OLIVE OIL WITHOUT OIL (67 points)
- NOSTROMO TUNA IN OLIVE OIL (67 points)
- PALMERA TUNA IN OLIVE OIL (67 points)
- OFF SEA TUNA IN OLIVE OIL AND A PINCH OF SALT (67 points)
- NOSTROMO TUNA FILLETS IN OLIVE OIL (66 points)
- MAREBLU VEROSAPORE TUNA SLICES IN EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL (65 points)
- CONSORCIO TUNA FILLETS IN OLIVE OIL (65 points)
- RIO MARE TUNA IN OLIVE OIL (64 points)
- MARUZZELLA TUNA IN OLIVE OIL (63 points)
- ARDEA TUNA IN OLIVE OIL (62 points)
- RIZZOLI TUNA FILLETS IN OLIVE OIL (62 points)
- ANGELO PARODI TUNA FILLETS IN OLIVE OIL (61 points)
- ZAROTTI TUNA FILLETS IN OLIVE OIL (60 points)
- MAREBLU VEROSAPE TUNA FILLETS IN EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL (60 points)
