Spain’s canned seafood labels are getting stricter, so now it really will be true what it says on the tin

Lots of us enjoy a good old sardine on toast, a mussel or cockle here and there, and with new rules for canned seafood in Spain you can now know exactly what it is inside that little silver can.

Clearer labels for canned seafood

Spain has updated the standards for canned fish and seafood products, including favourites such as sardines, tuna, mussels and cockles. The aim is to make labels clearer and give shoppers more accurate information about exactly what they are buying. This means under the new rules, manufacturers must use officially recognised commercial and scientific names for the species contained in their products. Labels will now need to be more precise, helping shoppers identify exactly which fish or shellfish they are purchasing.

A few examples of what is changing

One example is the term is sardinilla commonly used for small sardines. Under the updated standards, the name can only be used for fish that meet specific size requirements. Sardines from the Mediterranean must measure between 11 and 15 centimetres, while those from other fishing grounds must be between 11 and 13.7 centimetres. Weight limits also apply.

The regulations also require products to be sold under the official trade name recognised in Spain. This is intended to prevent confusion between similar species. For example, a can marketed as scallops cannot contain a different species, such as Pacific scallops or volandeiras, without the product being correctly identified on the label.

Other common terms found on packaging now have a specific legal definition. Descriptions such as “smoked”, “pickled”, “pasteurised”, “deep-frozen”, “clean” and “gutted” can only be used when the product meets the requirements set out in the regulations.

The same applies to fish cuts and portions. Terms including “belly”, “loin”, “fillet”, “cocochas” and “rings” are now defined by technical standards, meaning producers can only use those descriptions when the product matches the official specification.

Why the change?

The updated rules are intended to modernise standards across Spain’s canned seafood industry and create greater consistency between products making it easier for consumers to compare and understand exactly what they are buying.

Shoppers can rest assured that Spain’s beloved canned seafood is not going anywhere. The only change is that the label should do a better job of saying exactly what it is on the tin.