Canned Fish Highest in Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin)

Vitamin B12, or Cobalamin, is an essential vitamin necessary for the maintenance of the nervous system and for preventing anemia. (1) Fish is a good source of vitamin B12, but what about canned fish?

Canned fish can be a great source of vitamin B12. Canned foods are typically more affordable than fresh, with greater availability. The downside is that canned foods often have a lot of added sodium, and may be packed in less desirable oils. As such, try to choose canned fish without added salt and either packed in water or good quality olive oil.

Canned fish high in vitamin B12 includes canned oysters, clams, salmon, sardines, mackerel, crab, tuna, shrimp, cod, and anchovies. The values below are for a given serving size. 1 cup is a relatively large serving size, so if you don't usually eat this much at a time, you can simply divide the numbers in half to get the amount for half a cup (about 4 ounces).

The daily value (DV) for vitamin B12 is 2.4mcg per day. In 2016, this was reduced from 6mcg per day, because the scientific evidence shows that 2.4mcg is enough to prevent symptoms of deficiency in the majority of people. For this reason, the percentage of the daily value (%DV) may appear lower on outdated product labels. (2)

Use the nutrient ranking tool to search for fish high in vitamin B12 by a standard serving size, like 100 grams or 200 calories. For different kinds of foods, see the article on foods high in vitamin B12.