13 Canned Foods You Should Avoid At The Grocery Store

It's no secret that canned foods are popular. Since its inception in the late 18th century, the process of canning foods to extend their lifespan has been a common method of preparation. And today, if you head into any grocery store or supermarket, you'll find shelf after shelf stacked high with identically-sized cans containing a dizzying selection of different types of foods.

With the size of the canned food market only set to get bigger and an estimated market value of over 25 billion dollars by 2033, according to Future Market Insights, it's clear that there's never been a better time to be in the canning game. But not all canned foods are created equal. While certain types of canned products can make a food taste better or take the hassle out of preparing it, other canned products may not be worth the hard-earned money you're spending on them. But when something's sealed in a metal can, invisible to the naked eye until you open it up in your kitchen, how can you tell what's worth spending your hard-earned cash on and what's not? We're here to give you the lowdown on all of the canned foods that are best left on the shelf.

Chicken isn't exactly a hard food to prepare, but with its tendency to become dry and stringy if cooked incorrectly, getting it just right can be tricky. So we can understand why pre-cooked canned chicken might seem like an easy, fuss-free alternative. In our opinion, though, you should steer clear of this food item entirely. Not only is canned chicken kind of weird, that jelly it comes in sort of gives us the ick but it's often made using animals that are raised inhumanely. "Much industrial chicken is raised in terrible conditions, and many have infections and are treated with antibiotics," explains certified nutritionist and celebrity chef Serena Poon to Eat This, Not That. "Antibiotic use in meat production is specifically connected to human health concerns such as antibiotic resistance and child development issues."

As well as these antibiotic considerations, cheaply-made canned chicken just doesn't taste as good as opting for an animal product coming from ethical sources. And there's also the versatility factor to consider: Canned chicken may be convenient for some meals, but buying raw chicken and making it from scratch means that you're able to marinade, flavor, and cook it however you like. In our opinion, you're better off leaving this chicken at the store and heading to the fresh meat aisle instead.

First things first: If you're grabbing cans of green vegetables from the shelf and putting them in your basket, we salute you. Your mom always said to eat your greens, and here you are, putting that into practice. Good for you. Unfortunately, though, those cans of pre-cooked broccoli, asparagus, and green beans may not be the best way for you to get your veggies due to the fact that they may not be as fresh or nutritious as if you bought them raw.

While canned vegetables are generally pretty beneficial for you and contain useful nutrients, the preparation method they undergo can sap them somewhat of the good stuff. Canned green vegetables are blanched before they're sealed in the can, and this intensive heating process can reduce the concentration of certain vitamins in the food. There's also the aesthetic factor of your food to consider. Green vegetables, and other foods, have a tendency to change color somewhat when they're canned, and this can stop them from being the vibrant green that makes them feel so fresh when you cook them from raw yourself. As well as this, while some green vegetables are packed in water and nothing more, others can have sodium included in them to help boost flavor, which again can make them a little less nutritious than you might like.

There are plenty of canned meats out there, but for many people, Spam is a cut above the rest. This slightly mysterious-looking pink meat is at home in fried rice as it is being eaten on its own, and its flavor-packed, easy-to-cook nature has made it a hit in houses around the world.

But while Spam may be a choice that customers keep coming back to, that doesn't mean that it's the best thing in the world to be eating. This meat product is absolutely loaded with sodium, with a mere two ounces of the stuff containing almost a third of your daily sodium allowance. Sodium-rich foods like Spam are especially risky as consuming too much sodium regularly can contribute to higher blood pressure, according to Healthline. As well as this, Spam is pretty high in fat and contains more fat than protein per serving, which might not be ideal if you're buying it to up your protein intake.

And, while Spam is definitely delicious, there's also no denying that it goes through a pretty high amount of processing. There's nothing inherently wrong with this, but let's be real; it kinda makes it a little less appealing than a regular cut of meat, right? And if you want something which actually looks like it came from an animal, you're far better off going for fresh meat that's been sustainably and ethically sourced.

Canned fruit is a great way of getting a few portions of your five a day easily, even though it's arguably faster to simply grab a piece of fresh fruit and chow down. But despite seeming nutritious on the surface, once you get into that can, things can go downhill pretty quickly. Canned fruit comes in a variety of different styles, and many manufacturers pack their items in light or heavy syrup. While this definitely makes things sweeter, it also sends the sugar content in these apparently healthy products skyrocketing.

In one portion of Del Monte Pear Halves in heavy syrup, for example, there's a whopping 21 grams of sugar. And when you consider the fact that the recommended upper limit for added sugars each day is 37.5 grams for men and 25 grams for women, according to Healthline, that's an enormous amount coming from a source that's meant to be good for you. If you're looking to make your canned fruit choices more nutritious, it's best to seek out products that have no added sugar or that are packed in fruit juice. Alternatively, just grab some fresh fruit, and enjoy the natural flavors in all of their glory. ‌

It's no exaggeration to say that tuna is popular in the United States, with roughly 1 billion pounds of the fish eaten annually, according to the National Fisheries Institute. And of that amount, a large proportion is in canned form. There's an ease to canned tuna that's undeniable, and unlike some other canned foods, the fish retains its flavor and freshness excellently. But there's one glaring reason why you should reduce your canned tuna intake: The amount of mercury you could be ingesting.

White tuna is particularly problematic when it comes to mercury. This canned tuna type, most commonly sourced from albacore, can have almost triple the amount of mercury than other varieties. And eating too much mercury can cause some serious problems. Excessive mercury levels can affect multiple parts of your body negatively, including your kidneys, heart, and central nervous system, according to the Cleveland Clinic. In particularly severe cases, mercury poisoning can cause blindness, seizures, and even death.

While these symptoms often occur from long-term excessive exposure, it's always a good idea to limit your intake wherever possible — and cutting down on white tuna might be a good way to do it. Try to limit your white tuna portions to a maximum of three per month, and buy light tuna instead wherever possible. ‌

Chili is pretty much the ultimate comfort food. And pretty much the only thing that's not comforting about it is having to make it. A good chili can take hours on the stove, and who has that kind of time in this day and age?

So, to cut down stress and maximize pleasure, it makes sense to grab a can of chili, pour it into a bowl, and zap it in a microwave. Regrettably, doing so might provide you with way more fat in your diet than you'd like. Certain types of canned chili are super-high in fats, and it's usually not the good, heart-healthy kind. Instead, canned chili manufacturers often load their products with saturated and trans fats, with some brands supplying almost a quarter of your daily saturated fat allowance in a half cup of food.

This may not be great news for your cholesterol levels, as too much-saturated fat may cause an increase in bad cholesterol, raising the chances of developing heart-related diseases, according to the NHS. Eating too many trans fats have a similar negative effect on your cholesterol. While looking for chili products that are low in saturated fats can be a great way to avoid this, we recommend making it yourself. We promise you it'll be even more comforting.