Can I eat Canned Tuna?

Canned tuna is safe during pregnancy with mercury considerations. Canned light tuna (skipjack) has lower mercury than albacore/white tuna. The FDA recommends limiting albacore to 6oz per week. Canned light tuna can be eaten 2-3 times per week.

A "Use Caution" rating means this food is generally fine during pregnancy but comes with a specific factor worth managing — a daily limit, a preparation requirement, or a moderation guideline — rather than a reason to avoid it outright. These ratings reflect general guidance from the FDA, ACOG, CDC, and USDA. The goal of the "caution" label is to flag what to pay attention to, not to suggest the food is unsafe when that factor is properly managed.

Choose canned light tuna for lower mercury. Limit albacore to 6oz per week. Drain and use in sandwiches, salads, or pasta.

The FDA and EPA's joint fish advisory recommends pregnant women eat 2-3 servings (about 8-12 oz total) of low-mercury seafood per week — options like salmon, shrimp, pollock, catfish, and canned light tuna. Higher-mercury fish such as shark, swordfish, king mackerel, tilefish, and bigeye tuna should be avoided, since methylmercury can affect fetal brain development. Separately from mercury, raw or undercooked seafood (sushi, raw oysters, ceviche) carries a risk of Listeria, parasites, and other foodborne bacteria, so seafood should generally be cooked to an internal temperature of 145°F. Fish also provides omega-3 fatty acids (DHA and EPA) that support fetal brain and eye development, which is part of why the FDA/EPA advisory recommends regular low-mercury fish intake rather than avoiding fish altogether.

The caution around this food applies consistently across all three trimesters — there isn’t a specific window during pregnancy where it becomes more or less risky. The safest approach is moderation and attention to preparation or portion size throughout, rather than avoiding it in some trimesters and not others. If you’re managing a related condition, such as gestational diabetes or high blood pressure, ask your provider whether they’d recommend a stricter limit than the general guidance described here.

Beyond food-specific guidance, a few baseline food-handling habits reduce risk across everything you eat during pregnancy. These come from general FDA and USDA food-safety guidance rather than being specific to any one food, and they apply the same way in every trimester: