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Starkist Tuna Creations Deli Style Tuna Salad
Photo: Open Food Facts contributors (CC BY-SA)

Canned tunas

Starkist Tuna Creations Deli Style Tuna Salad

3 oz

Poor out of 100 High confidence
  • Ultra-processed
  • Contains added sugars
  • Contains emulsifiers studied for gut effects
  • No synthetic dyes
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Why it scores 22

Starkist Tuna Creations Deli Style Tuna Salad scores 22 out of 100 (Poor) under GoodSwap’s published rules. What moved the score most:

  1. Sugar: An added sugar. Strong
  2. Dextrose: An added sugar. Strong
  3. Ultra-processed (NOVA 4): Classified NOVA 4: made with industrial ingredients and additives. Strong

Every line of the math is on The Receipt below, with its evidence tier and sources.

Better canned salmon, sardines and other seafood

The same kind of product, at least 10 points higher, sold in the US. Never paid placements.

The Receipt

Tuna Creations Deli Style Tuna Salad

START100

Ingredients

  • Sugar
    Strong An added sugar. [1][2][3]
  • Dextrose
    Strong An added sugar. [1][2][3]
  • Carrageenan
    Strong In the NutriNet-Santé cohort, higher carrageenan intake was associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes; cause and effect is not established. [4][5][6][7]
  • Cellulose gum (carboxymethylcellulose)
    Strong In a small randomized feeding trial, carboxymethylcellulose modestly increased abdominal discomfort and reduced gut microbiota diversity; in mice it promoted low-grade inflammation. [8][5][9][10]
subtotal−50

Processing

  • Ultra-processed (NOVA 4)
    Strong Classified NOVA 4: made with industrial ingredients and additives. [11]
  • 6 kinds of ultra-processing markers
    Emerging Industrial additive classes found: color (added), firming agent, flavoring, industrial sugar or starch hydrolysate, modified starch and thickener, stabilizer or gelling agent. [11]
subtotal−25.5

Nutrition per 100 g

  • Salt 1.4 g / 100 g
    Strong High in salt. [12]
  • Protein 15.3 g / 100 g
    Info A good source of protein. [2]
subtotal−3
TOTAL 22Poor

100 − 78.5 = 21.5 → 22

Can’t score above 79. Contains sugar, an ingredient of high concern. [1][2][3]

GTIN 00080000502391 · 2026-09-11

score v1.3.0 · kb 2026.10.11

High confidence

Same product, same score. Every time.

Nutrition per 100 g

Energy94 kcal
Fat1.8 g
Saturated fat0.6 g
Trans fat0 g
Carbohydrates3.5 g
Sugars1.2 g
Added sugars1.2 g
Fiber1.2 g
Protein15.3 g
Salt1.4 g

Serving: 1 pouch (85 g)

Ingredients

High Moderate Not recognized Tap an ingredient for its evidence and rules.
Label text, as published

LIGHT TUNA, WATER, WATER CHESTNUTS, VINEGAR, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF THE FOLLOWING: CELERY, CURED CUCUMBERS, EGG YOLK, ONION POWDER, MUSTARD FLOUR, MODIFIED FOOD STARCH (CORN), SALT, SUGAR, DEXTROSE, CARRAGEENAN, XANTHAN GUM, CELLULOSE GEL, GUAR GUM, NATURAL FLAVORS, SODIUM CARBOXYMETHYLCELLULOSE, CALCIUM CHLORIDE, COLOR ADDED. CONTAINS: FISH (TUNA), EGGS

Allergens and diets

Contains: Soy, Egg, Fish, Mustard, Celery

  • Not vegan
  • Not vegetarian
  • Palm-oil-free

Always check the package: recipes change.

Healthiest canned tunas in the US

More from Starkist

Sources

  1. Guideline: sugars intake for adults and children

    World Health Organization · Mar 4, 2015 · Agency assessment

    “In both adults and children, WHO recommends reducing the intake of free sugars to less than 10% of total energy intake”

    who.int

  2. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030

    U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture · January 2026 · Regulator

    “Limit foods and beverages that include artificial flavors, petroleum-based dyes, artificial preservatives, and low-calorie non-nutritive sweeteners.”

    cdn.realfood.gov

  3. Added and free sugars should be as low as possible

    European Food Safety Authority · Feb 28, 2022 · Agency assessment

    “Sugar consumption is a known cause of dental caries.”

    efsa.europa.eu

  4. Food additive emulsifiers and the risk of type 2 diabetes: analysis of data from the NutriNet-Santé prospective cohort study

    The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology · May 2024 · Peer-reviewed

    “We found direct associations between the risk of type 2 diabetes and exposures to various food additive emulsifiers widely used in industrial foods, in a large prospective cohort of French adults.”

    doi.org

  5. Dietary emulsifiers impact the mouse gut microbiota promoting colitis and metabolic syndrome

    Nature · Mar 5, 2015 · Peer-reviewed

    “carboxymethylcellulose and polysorbate-80, induced low-grade inflammation and obesity/metabolic syndrome in wild-type hosts and promoted robust colitis in mice predisposed to this disorder.”

    doi.org

  6. Re-evaluation of carrageenan (E 407) and processed Eucheuma seaweed (E 407a) as food additives

    European Food Safety Authority · Apr 26, 2018 · Agency assessment

    “However, the Panel noted uncertainties as regards the chemistry, the exposure assessment and biological and toxicological data.”

    doi.org

  7. Agents Classified by the IARC Monographs, Volumes 1–142 (List of Classifications)

    International Agency for Research on Cancer (WHO) · IARC

    monographs.iarc.who.int

  8. Randomized Controlled-Feeding Study of Dietary Emulsifier Carboxymethylcellulose Reveals Detrimental Impacts on the Gut Microbiota and Metabolome

    Gastroenterology · March 2022 · Peer-reviewed

    “Relative to control subjects, CMC consumption modestly increased postprandial abdominal discomfort and perturbed gut microbiota composition in a way that reduced its diversity.”

    doi.org

  9. Food additive emulsifiers and risk of cardiovascular disease in the NutriNet-Santé cohort: prospective cohort study

    BMJ · Sep 6, 2023 · Peer-reviewed

    “This study found positive associations between risk of CVD and intake of five individual and two groups of food additive emulsifiers widely used in industrial foods.”

    doi.org

  10. Re-evaluation of celluloses E 460(i), E 460(ii), E 461, E 462, E 463, E 464, E 465, E 466, E 468 and E 469 as food additives

    European Food Safety Authority · Jan 16, 2018 · Agency assessment

    “The Panel concluded that there was no need for a numerical ADI and that there would be no safety concern at the reported uses and use levels for the unmodified and modified celluloses”

    doi.org

  11. Ultra-processed foods: what they are and how to identify them

    Public Health Nutrition · April 2019 · Peer-reviewed

    doi.org

  12. Sodium reduction (fact sheet)

    World Health Organization · May 11, 2026 · Agency assessment

    “For adults, WHO recommends less than 2000 mg/day of sodium (equivalent to less than 5 g/day salt), or just under a teaspoon.”

    who.int

  13. Ultra-processed food exposure and adverse health outcomes: umbrella review of epidemiological meta-analyses

    BMJ · Feb 28, 2024 · Peer-reviewed

    “Greater exposure to ultra-processed food was associated with a higher risk of adverse health outcomes, especially cardiometabolic, common mental disorder, and mortality outcomes.”

    doi.org

  14. Ultra-Processed Diets Cause Excess Calorie Intake and Weight Gain: An Inpatient Randomized Controlled Trial of Ad Libitum Food Intake

    Cell Metabolism · July 2019 · Peer-reviewed

    doi.org