Don't Bother With These 6 Canned Costco Meats

Fans know that there's plenty to love about Costco, and it just starts with those famous rotisserie chickens. When it comes time for the carnivores among us to go shopping there, they'll find that while there are a number of meats that are great, must-buy purchases, they're not all winners. The Kirkland Signature Party Wings, for example, are best left on the shelf. But what about Costco's canned meats?

Canned meats can be a great way to make sure you have something on hand for easy meals when you just don't feel like stopping at the store on the way home from work. Whip up a simple yet refined tuna sandwich, and use canned chicken on pasta or for quesadillas for something quick, fun, and delicious. Not all canned meats are created equal, though, and if you want some really tasty meals, there are some you'll want to skip.

And yes, even at Costco. In order to give you the low-down on some canned meats that you might want to leave out of your cart, we did a few things, starting with consulting scores of customer reviews to find out what people just didn't like. In addition, we also looked at things like sodium content and other nutritional red flags, and we also found some canned meats that have had concerns raised regarding things like sourcing and sustainability. So, while you'll find some absolutely incredible deals at Costco's meat department, these canned goods leave much to be desired.

Kirkland Signature solid white albacore wild tuna might seem like it's a great thing to keep on hand for whipping up a zippy tuna pasta salad for a creative lunch or side, but there are a few problems with this one. First, if you take a look at the sourcing information on the label, you'll see that this tuna is caught in the Indian Ocean and canned in the U.S. Unfortunately, groups like the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch recommend against buying any tuna that's fished from this area, as it's been pretty consistently subjected to overfishing and considered an at-risk environment. 

Albacore tuna are also higher in mercury and have an estimated three times the amount that's usually found in other types of tuna (such as skipjack). Mercury is a major concern, and prolonged exposure has been linked to things like an increased risk of heart disease, brain cell death, and even depression and anxiety. 

There's one more thing: In 2023, Costco was accused of false advertising regarding its canned tuna. A lawsuit claimed that although the product was labeled as being "dolphin-safe," it wasn't. Dolphin-safe is supposed to mean that no dolphins were captured, hurt, or injured by the fishing industry, but outside of U.S. jurisdiction, things get a little hazy. Experts talk about whales, sea lions, and other marine mammals as paying dearly for your tuna sandwich, so dolphin-safe might not mean what you hope it means.

Costco's canned tuna offerings include Bumble Bee, which makes products like a handy Snack on the Run pack that seems like it's just what you might need for busy days. There's a catch: In 2022, Greenpeace published a scathing report on an in-depth investigation into the fishing industry and one of the brands called out by name was Bumble Bee.

The Greenpeace report focused on a few things, including claims that traceability of seafood catches were unreliable and inaccurate. Some of the things that were flagged included connections to fishing vessels that were known to have violated fishing regulations and that had been linked to shark finning, forced labor, human trafficking, and widespread abuse. Fast forward to 2024, and Greenpeace reported that the company had once again been accused of forced labor practices and other abuses, such as denying medical aid to fishermen and forcing them to eat only rotten foods and bycatch from fishing operations. The tuna fished by those vessels eventually made its way to store shelves in Maine. 

That's not the first time questions have been raised. Back in 2020, Bumble Bee was bought by Fong Chun Formosa Fishery Company. The company had long been one of Bumble Bee's major suppliers, and the acquisition raised big questions about what the company's policies and procedures were going to look like. Here's some more food for thought: A Costco VP has confirmed that Kirkland Signature tuna is actually processed by Bumble Bee. 

Spam might have a reputation as being a great thing to keep on shelves, and yes, Spam can be a breakfast time favorite when it's fried up and served with eggs. But should it be a part of a regular diet? Maybe not. Costco does sell Spam Classic, and you can get eight 12-ounce cans in a single package. But take a look at the nutritional information on those cans and you'll see that each one has six servings, and each serving has 790 milligrams of sodium.

The American Heart Association warns that processed foods are one of the biggest offenders when it comes to getting too much sodium. Ideally, adults should be getting 1,500 milligrams of sodium per day, with an acceptable limit of 2,300 milligrams. Sure, Spam is great for an easy meal, but fry up a few slices, and you're getting a ton of salt.

There are other concerns regarding Spam, too. Made from pork and ham, it's highly processed. Those types of meats have been connected to things like an increased risk of heart disease and high blood pressure, along with certain types of cancers and some respiratory diseases. Spam is high in sodium nitrites, contains more than seven times the amount of fat as chicken, and it's much lower in protein. If you absolutely love the occasional Spam meal, we get it. There is a low-sodium version of Spam available,  and if you just have to, opt for that — and skip the regular.

There are a lot of great options out there for canned meats: There are a slew of ways to use canned chicken, for example, whether you're making a hearty soup, delicious quesadillas, or chicken salad. On the other side of that, though, are canned meat options like Libby's Vienna sausages, which are made from mechanically separated chicken instead of less processed white meat. 

That might be enough to make you put this one back on the shelf, but let's look at the nutritional information. One can of these little sausages has 820 milligrams of sodium, which is about half of what the American Heart Association says you should ideally include in your diet for the entire day. It also contains 16 grams of fat and 95 milligrams of cholesterol, with only 9 grams of protein. Just to put things in perspective, let's compare that to Costco's Kirkland Signature chicken breast. That's got 270 milligrams of sodium, 1 gram of fat, 45 milligrams of cholesterol, and 13 grams of protein. The first ingredients are chicken breast meat and water, making this a much better option overall.

Experts also say there are other concerns that come along with those cans of Libby's, including added sugars, the potential of antibiotics and growth hormones in the supply chain, and the fact that they're highly processed and contain additives like sodium nitrites. Bottom line? Give this one a miss.

If you don't have a favorite corned beef hash recipe, you're missing out. It makes a delicious breakfast or lunch, and it's a lot easier to make than you might think. Sure, there's something nostalgic about canned corned beef hash, but according to countless customer reviews, if you opt for Chef-mate's corned beef hash, you might find yourself not only regretting that choice but turning away from the deliciousness that this meal can deliver ... when, at least, it's done right. 

Yes, Costco sells these cans and yes, it might be more convenient than making it from scratch. But, according to online reviews from customers, that's about all it has going for it. Many report finding that this particular brand of hash incredibly greasy, to the point where cooking it in a frying pan left kitchens a splatter-covered mess. Many complain that even after cooking, it's just too fatty, and some customers say that it's almost overwhelmingly salty.

A glance at the nutritional information backs that up; one serving comes with not only 35 grams of fat, but 1,360 milligrams of sodium. Eating that much sodium in a single sitting can definitely have some serious effects on your body: High-sodium meals have been linked to things like feelings of bloating, extreme thirst, and even a spike in blood pressure. For those who are already managing heart and blood pressure-related conditions, that can have some serious effects.

When Tasting Table's sister site, Mashed, did a ranking of canned corned beef brands from worst to best, Ox & Palm took one of the worst ratings in the list. They had a lot to say about this particular brand's corned beef, calling it not only inconsistent, but not at all the high-quality product that customers might expect from Australian, grass-fed beef. 

Customers who have headed online to review Ox & Palm corned beef agree and say that while it's just sort of alright, there are plenty who echo the complaints about inconsistency. Many report finding chunks of fatty, uncooked meat that leads to a greasy and unpleasant texture, and let's be honest: No one wants to bite into a hunk of fat when they're eating corned beef hash. Some report getting cans that were so fatty that they needed to pre-cook the hash, drain it, and then cook it again, with others saying that yes, they found veiny, sinewy, stringy bits and other unpleasant textures.

It's also been likened to cat food, so in other words, it's not great — especially for the price. Customers seem to have all kinds of issues with this one, and that's the thing, isn't it? You're buying canned meat for the convenience, and if turning the contents of a can into something edible takes so much work, you might as well make it from scratch.