MMany retailers have swapped the fish for a cheaper, less nutritious alternative after Atlantic stocks plunged, while keeping prices near old levels
Warning issued for UK households with tinned mackerel in kitchen
Tinned fish is an “affordable and convenient way for households to add important nutrients to their diets”, said Sue Davies
Your tinned mackerel may not be what you think it is, Which? has warned. The substitution with jack mackerel, a different species, because of dwindling stocks, has been criticised by consumer group Which?.
Tinned fish is an “affordable and convenient way for households to add important nutrients to their diets”, said Sue Davies, the head of food policy at Which?.
“While manufacturers face genuine supply chain pressures and sustainability challenges, they have a responsibility to shoppers to be completely upfront when they change a product’s recipe.
“Skimpflation can feel particularly sneaky as shoppers may not realise a product has changed until they get it home and eat it,” she said.
Until December 2025, under UK law, Carangidae species could only be marketed as “jack”, “scad”, “trevally” or “horse mackerel”.
Tinned fish is an “affordable and convenient way for households to add important nutrients to their diets”, said Sue Davies
But shortly after Princes launched its new product as “jack mackerel”, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs changed its rules to permit the labelling.
Jack mackerel contains about half as much omega-3 and around a third as much vitamin B12 as traditional mackerel.
And in a recent video by the viral canned seafood reviewer Marcus Ansell, he rates its original mackerel fillets eight out of 10 while the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)-certified replacement scores a lowly 3.5 out of 10.
“Jack mackerel is of significantly lower quality,” said Ansell. “It is quite a bad tinned fish really. I’ve had a lot of messages and some comments on my videos from people who thought they were buying real mackerel and were very disappointed when they tried it.”
Ansell added: “It’s not a substitute at all. . It’s a completely different species and is nothing like mackerel in its taste, texture, or smell … and there’s the health aspect, which is important to some people.”
The Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association said there was the potential for confusion, saying “consumers should be able to clearly understand what they are buying”.
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.CEO designate Hannah Fennell said: “If retailers move away from Northeast Atlantic mackerel, they are unfairly punishing the UK industry while instead sourcing a different, less omega-3-rich species from the other side of the world with a significantly higher carbon footprint to the UK market.”
