Canned oyster brand comparison

After being disappointed by buying expensive canned oysters that seemed lower quality than cheap generic brands, I decided to contact common oyster brands and find out their countries of origin and BPA status. If you know of brands I've overlooked, please let me know in the comments below.

Recommended as ideal smoked oysters

Photo of St. Jean's Smoked Oysters
St. Jean's Smoked Oysters
Available on stjeans.com
Notes:
  • From Vancouver Island
  • BPA-free
All ingredients:

Smoked oysters, golden yellow sugar, sea salt (brine).

Recommended as more-affordable smoked oysters

These two Crown Prince Natural products are from South Korea, and are one of the few that don't use cottonseed or soybean oil. Make sure to distinguish these "Crown Prince Natural" products from the regular "Crown Prince" brand that may come from China.

Photo of Crown Prince Natural Smoked Oysters in Pure Olive Oil
Crown Prince Natural Smoked Oysters in Pure Olive Oil
Available on iHerb
Notes:
  • From South Korea (managed fisheries)
  • BPA-free
  • They explicitly claim it's gluten free
All ingredients:

Smoked oysters, pure olive oil.

Photo of Crown Prince Natural Naturally Smoked Oysters with Red Chili Pepper
Crown Prince Natural Naturally Smoked Oysters with Red Chili Pepper
Available on iHerb

I'm waiting to hear back from Crown Prince about a possible switch to Chinese sources. You may want to contact the seller for confirmation of the country-of-origin before ordering any of these.

Notes:
  • From South Korea (managed fisheries)
  • BPA-free
  • They explicitly claim it's gluten free
All ingredients:

Smoked oysters, pure olive oil, chili pepper.

Choosing boiled oysters

I don't see a lot of difference between the boiled oyster brands, so it might be worth buying whatever's convenient at your local store.


Full brand list

Chicken of the Sea Smoked Oysters in Oil
Notes:
  • From Korea or China
  • Probably contains BPA
  • Certified gluten-free
All ingredients:

Smoked oysters, cottonseed oil, salt.

Chicken of the Sea Whole Oysters
Notes:
  • From Korea or China
  • Probably contains BPA
  • Certified gluten-free
All ingredients:

Whole oysters, water, salt.

Crown Prince Boiled Whole Oysters in Water
Notes:
  • From South Korea
  • BPA-free
  • They explicitly claim it's gluten free
All ingredients:

Whole oysters, water, salt.

Crown Prince Mildly Spiced Smoked Oysters
Notes:
  • From China (managed fisheries)
  • Probably contains BPA (but they are working to go BPA-free eventually)
  • They explicitly claim it's gluten free
All ingredients:

Smoked oysters, cottonseed oil, chili pepper, salt.

Crown Prince Natural Boiled Whole Oysters in Water
Notes:
  • From South Korea (managed fisheries)
  • BPA-free
  • They explicitly claim it's gluten free
All ingredients:

Whole oysters, water, salt.

Crown Prince Smoked Oysters in Cottonseed Oil
Notes:
  • From China (managed fisheries)
  • BPA-free
  • They explicitly claim it's gluten free
All ingredients:

Smoked oysters, cottonseed oil, salt.

Ekone BBQ Smoked Oysters
Notes:
  • From Willapa Bay (Washington State)
  • Contains BPA
All ingredients:

Pacific oysters, salt, brown sugar, ketchup (tomato concentrate made from red ripe tomatoes, distilled vinegar, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, salt, spice, onion powder, natural flavoring), worcestershire sauce (vinegar, molasses, anchovies, water, onions, salt, garlic, tamarind extract, cloves, natural flavorings, chili pepper extract, hydrolyzed soy and corn protein), citric acid.

Ekone Habanero Hots Smoked Oysters
Notes:
  • From Willapa Bay (Washington State)
  • Contains BPA
All ingredients:

Pacific oysters, salt, brown sugar, tomato sauce, soybean oil, citric acid, garlic and onion powder, habanero sauce (tomato paste, water, California chili peppers, habanero peppers, chili varieties, vinegar, spices, herbs, xanthan gum).

Ekone Lemon Pepper Smoked Oysters
Notes:
  • From Willapa Bay (Washington State)
  • Contains BPA
All ingredients:

Pacific oysters, salt, brown sugar, black pepper, soybean oil, citric acid, granulated onion, garlic powder, lemon peel, freeze dried whole lemon.

Ekone Original Smoked Oysters (appears to be the source for SeaBear brand oysters)
Notes:
  • From Willapa Bay (Washington State)
  • Contains BPA
All ingredients:

Pacific oysters, salt, brown sugar, soybean oil, citric acid, garlic and onion powder.

Ekone Teriyaki Smoked Oysters
Notes:
  • From Willapa Bay (Washington State)
  • Contains BPA
All ingredients:

Pacific oysters, salt, brown sugar, soy sauce (extract of soya beans, wheat flour), soybean oil, citric acid, garlic and onion powder.

Geisha Smoked Oysters in Cottonseed Oil
Notes:
  • Usually from Korea, occasionally from China
  • Probably contains BPA
All ingredients:

Smoked oysters, cottonseed oil, salt.

Geisha Smoked Oysters in Cottonseed Oil with Red Chili Pepper
Notes:
  • Usually from Korea, occasionally from China
  • Probably contains BPA
All ingredients:

Smoked oysters, cottonseed oil, chili pepper, salt.

Geisha Whole Oysters in Water
Notes:
  • Usually from Korea, occasionally from China
  • Probably contains BPA
All ingredients:

Oysters, water, salt.

Great Value Smoked Oysters
Notes:
  • From China
  • Probably contains BPA
All ingredients:

Smoked oysters, cottonseed oil, salt.

Kroger / King Soopers Premium Quality Whole Oysters in Water
Notes:
  • From Korea (and possibly other locations)
  • Probably contains BPA
All ingredients:

Whole oysters, water, salt.

Northern Catch Fancy Whole Smoked Oysters (with Red Chili Pepper)
Notes:
  • From China ("GGN Certified Aquaculture")
  • Probably contains BPA
All ingredients:

Smoked oysters, cottonseed oil, chili pepper, salt.

Ocean Prince Boiled Whole Oysters
Notes:
  • From South Korea or China (managed fisheries)
  • BPA-free
  • They explicitly claim it's gluten free
All ingredients:

Whole oysters, water, salt.

Ocean Prince Cocktail Smoked Oysters in Cottonseed Oil
Notes:
  • From China (managed fisheries)
  • BPA-free
  • They explicitly claim it's gluten free
All ingredients:

Smoked oysters, cottonseed oil, salt.

Ocean Prince Fancy Whole Smoked Oysters in Cottonseed Oil
Notes:
  • From China (managed fisheries)
  • BPA-free
  • They explicitly claim it's gluten free
All ingredients:

Smoked oysters, cottonseed oil, salt.

Ocean Prince Fancy Whole Smoked Oysters with Red Chili Pepper
Notes:
  • From China (managed fisheries)
  • BPA-free
  • They explicitly claim it's gluten free
All ingredients:

Smoked oysters, cottonseed oil, chili pepper, salt.

Reese Colossal Smoked Oysters
Notes:
  • From Korea or China
  • BPA-free
All ingredients:

Smoked farm raised oysters, cottonseed oil, salt.

Reese Medium Smoked Oysters
Notes:
  • From Korea or China
  • BPA-free
All ingredients:

Smoked farm raised oysters, cottonseed oil, salt.

Reese Petite Smoked Oysters
Notes:
  • From Korea or China
  • BPA-free
All ingredients:

Smoked farm raised oysters, cottonseed oil, salt.

Reese Smoked Oysters in Spring Water
Notes:
  • From Korea or China
  • BPA-free
All ingredients:

Smoked oysters, water, salt.

Reese Smoked Oysters in Teriyaki Sauce
Notes:
  • From Korea or China
  • BPA-free
All ingredients:

Smoked oysters, water, soy sauce (soybean hydrolyzate, water, salt, corn syrup, caramel color, propylparaben (preservative), sugar, oyster extract, MSG, vinegar).

Reese Whole Boiled Oysters
Notes:
  • From Korea or China
  • Contains BPA
All ingredients:

Farm raised oysters, water, salt.

Roland Naturally Smoked Oysters (Large)
Notes:
  • From "the Pacific region, near Fujian, China"
  • Probably contains BPA
All ingredients:

Smoked oysters, cottonseed oil, salt.

Roland Naturally Smoked Oysters (Medium)
Notes:
  • From "the Pacific region, near Fujian, China"
  • Probably contains BPA
All ingredients:

Smoked oysters, cottonseed oil, salt.

Roland Naturally Smoked Oysters (Petite)
Notes:
  • From "the Pacific region, near Fujian, China"
  • Probably contains BPA
All ingredients:

Smoked oysters, cottonseed oil, salt.

Roland Naturally Smoked Oysters (Size not on Label)
Notes:
  • From "the Pacific region, near Fujian, China"
  • Probably contains BPA
All ingredients:

Smoked oysters, cottonseed oil, salt.

Roland Whole Oysters
Notes:
  • From Korea
  • Probably contains BPA
All ingredients:

Oysters, water, salt.

Sunny Sea Oysters in Water
Notes:
  • From China (farm raised)
  • Probably contains BPA
All ingredients:

Oysters, water, salt.

Sunny Sea Smoked Oysters
Notes:
  • From China (farm raised)
  • Probably contains BPA
All ingredients:

Smoked oysters, sunflower oil, salt.

Sunny Sea Smoked Oysters in Teriyaki Sauce
Notes:
  • From China (farm raised)
  • Probably contains BPA
All ingredients:

Smoked oysters, soy sauce (4%), oyster juice (0.6%), sugar, maltose syrup (3%, contains gluten), water.

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