Red salmon has a richer taste and makes for a firmer yet fattier meal. Pink salmon is known for having a mild flavor and softer patty. These differences in freshness, safety, taste, and texture often result in people developing a preference for one of the fish over the other.
Both canned and fresh fish are good sources of protein and other important nutrients, and have the same amount of calories.. Plus canned salmon delivers the same high doses of healthy Omega 3's and Vitamin D. The real choice to be made when considering your health is wild salmon over farmed salmon.
Five of the most commonly eaten fish that are low in mercury are shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock, and catfish. Another commonly eaten fish, albacore ("white") tuna has more mercury than canned light tuna.
Sardines
Sardines provide 2 grams of heart-healthy omega-3s per 3 ounce serving, which is one of the highest levels of omega-3 and the lowest levels of mercury of any fish. They contain a great source of calcium and Vitamin D, so they support bone health, too.
Canned salmon is already cooked - just drain the liquid and it's ready to eat or add to your favourite dish. You can remove the skin if you like. Don't throw out the soft, calcium-rich bones!
While they're both highly nutritious, salmon comes out ahead due to its healthy omega-3 fats and vitamin D. Meanwhile, tuna is the winner if you're instead looking for more protein and fewer calories per serving.
Canned Salmon Nutrition Facts
Salmon is high in important vitamins and minerals like vitamin D, B12, and B6, niacin, and selenium while also containing potassium and iron. But the most talked-about benefits of eating salmon are its protein content, its high level of omega 3 fatty acids, and its low-calorie total.
Canned tuna and salmon
It is generally safe for everyone, including pregnant women, to consume two to three serves of tuna or salmon a week, canned or fresh. Canned tuna usually has lower mercury levels than other tuna because tuna used for canning are smaller species that are caught when less than one year old.
Fish and shellfish in this category, such as salmon, catfish, tilapia, lobster and scallops, are safe to eat two to three times a week, or 8 to 12 ounces per week, according to the FDA.
Canned salmon is typically pink or sockeye salmon (both wild), with sockeye salmon having the edge in higher omega-3 levels (1,080 milligrams versus 920 per three ounces).
According to the Environmental Defense Fund, salmon across the board is considered low in mercury, making it one of the safest fish to eat. The only popular seafood options that are lower in mercury than salmon are anchovies, sardines, oysters, scallops and shrimp.
Salmon is low in mercury.
Both wild and farmed Atlantic salmon have much lower mercury levels than most other fish species. Farmed salmon has on average, 0.05 micrograms of mercury per gram.
Generally speaking, eating salmon every day is not always recommended, unless you eat small amounts. “The 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that people consume 8 to 10 ounces of seafood per week, especially fish that are lower in mercury, which would include salmon,” says Pike.
Now that's for salmon. Sardines contain significantly less mercury than salmon, so even if you had two standard-sized cans of sardines (~3 ounces / ~84 grams drained), that's still only ~6 ounces of a safer fish in terms of heavy metals. In fact, you could have 4–5 cans of sardines and still be safe!
While they are both excellent sources of protein and add to your nutrient profile, the benefits of fish tend to be slightly higher than chicken, especially when it comes to the Omega-3 content in it.
Dark melanin spots on salmon are OK to eat
The antioxidant is a type of melanin (and, yep, from the same family of pigments that darkens human skin and helps protect us from the sun's harmful rays). Melanin also gives caviar and other foods their color.
A dash of Wildfish smoked salmon juice will go a long way in a recipe. Or, you can simply drink it with your other daily supplements. You probably noticed when you opened your first can from Wildfish that in addition to the best smoked salmon, you received a healthy little dash of juice in the can.
The USDA cautions: “do not rinse raw fish, seafood, meat, and poultry. Bacteria in these raw juices can splash and spread to other foods and surfaces. Cooking foods thoroughly will kill harmful bacteria.”
Best Low Mercury: Safe Catch Wild Pink Salmon
With the lowest mercury of any brand of canned fish, the Safe Catch Wild Pink Salmon is a handy solution for your pantry.
Choose lower-mercury fish and seafood, such as salmon, shrimp, cod, and sardines. Avoid higher-mercury fish, such as tilefish from the Gulf of Mexico, shark, swordfish, and king mackerel.