Is Tuna Ultra-Processed?
No — plain canned tuna is just fish, water/oil, and salt
No. Plain canned tuna is one of the simplest products in the supermarket. We checked eight tuna products at Tesco and the vast majority contain just two or three ingredients: tuna, water or oil, and salt. The cheapest option — Tesco Tuna Chunks in Spring Water at £0.65 — contains only skipjack tuna and spring water, scoring NOVA 1 (unprocessed). Most other plain tuna scores NOVA 2 (processed) due to the addition of salt or oil. The only exception is flavoured tuna like John West Infusions, which adds thickeners (guar gum) and natural flavourings, pushing it into NOVA 3-4 territory. Stick with plain tuna in water, brine, or olive oil and you are safe.
Why Tuna scores NOVA 2 — Processed
Canned tuna is made by cooking fish, packing it in water, brine, or oil, and sealing the can. This is traditional food preservation — the same principle as bottling or jarring — and falls squarely into NOVA 2 (processed food).
We checked eight tuna products at Tesco and found a clear split:
- Tesco Tuna Chunks in Spring Water (£0.65) contains just 'Skipjack Tuna (Fish), Spring Water' — two ingredients, zero additives, NOVA 1. This is as close to unprocessed as canned food gets. - Tesco Tuna Steaks in Spring Water (£1.60) is similarly minimal: 'Skipjack Tuna (Fish) (93%), Spring Water' — also NOVA 1. - Princes Tuna Chunks in Brine (£4.30), John West No Drain (£4.00), Rio Mare in Olive Oil (£3.30/£4.00), and Stockwell & Co Tuna Chunks (£0.55) all add salt, making them NOVA 2. Salt is a standard processing ingredient, not an ultra-processed additive.
The outlier is John West Chilli & Garlic Infusions (£1.50), which contains guar gum (a thickener) and natural chilli flavouring. Under NOVA classification, thickeners and flavourings are markers of ultra-processing, placing this product at NOVA 3-4.
The budget pick — Stockwell & Co at £0.55 — is just tuna, water, and salt. You do not need to spend more for a cleaner product.
Key additives to watch for
Tuna at Tesco — NOVA scores
Source: Tesco product page, March 2026
2 UPF markers
*Prices were correct at the time of collection and may have since changed. Check Tesco.com for current pricing.
What to look for when shopping
Plain canned tuna in water, brine, or olive oil is consistently clean — just fish, liquid, and sometimes salt. You cannot go wrong with any of these. The products to watch out for are flavoured or 'infusion' varieties (John West Infusions, Princes Flavoured Tuna, etc.) which add thickeners like guar gum and natural flavourings, pushing them into NOVA 3-4. Check the ingredients list: if it has more than three items, look more closely. Budget tip: Stockwell & Co Tuna Chunks at £0.55 and Tesco Tuna Chunks at £0.65 are among the cheapest and cleanest protein sources in the entire store.
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