Canned Light Tuna Nutrition Facts for Drained Solids

A can of tuna can be a convenient lunch ingredient, but its nutrition entry needs more detail than the word tuna. This guide uses light tuna canned in water, measured as drained solids. The reference is 100 grams of the drained fish. The packing water is excluded, and the card does not describe tuna packed in oil, a flavored pouch, or a prepared tuna salad. For that exact generic entry, USDA reports 86 calories, 19.4 grams of protein, and 247 milligrams of sodium per 100 grams. These figures may differ from the label on your can. That difference is a reason to check the product, not to assume that every tuna reference should display an identical number. Different preparations, formulations, and serving definitions can produce different values. The source is USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy, food 173709, “Fish, tuna, light, canned in water, drained solids,” including its Food Distribution Program designation. The image uses this entry's per-100-gram data directly. It does not combine a calorie figure from one tuna entry with protein or sodium from another. The source description and portion basis should remain attached whenever these values are reused. Start with the package label when you have a specific product. Check whether its serving is defined by drained weight and how many servings the container holds. The net weight printed on a can may include liquid, so it is not automatically the amount of drained fish you will eat. If weighing at home, drain the product as intended and weigh the edible portion rather than treating the unopened can's contents as all fish. Packing medium also matters. An oil-packed product should not be assigned the water-packed entry simply because both are canned tuna. A prepared product with seasonings or other ingredients may likewise need its own label. Avoid claiming a sodium reduction from rinsing unless you have data supporting that exact preparation; this card gives no such estimate. For lunch, tuna might be used in a sandwich, a pasta salad, or a bowl with vegetables. Those are serving ideas, not calculated recipes. Mayonnaise, dressing, bread, pasta, and other ingredients contribute additional nutrients. To estimate a complete lunch, record their quantities and the portion served. The fish's numbers alone cannot represent the full dish. Use the card to practice matching a food description to a serving, rather than as advice about how often to eat a particular fish. Its focus is composition, not an individualized dietary plan. The practical takeaway is to check the actual label, keep the drained basis clear, and count additions separately. Source: USDA FoodData Central, https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/173709/nutrients.