Sardines

Tinned sardine fillets – the production is very complex and almost exclusively done by hand.
once the fresh sardines (a type of herring) have been supplied to the factories every day, they then undergo a long process to be turned into a tasty delicacy. The fish is packed in salt straight away and transported to the next process stage in plastic containers. The heads are removed, the fish is gutted and sorted by size. It is then rinsed, salted again and stored in barrels to mature at room temperature for several months. The storage time is based on the flavour or eating habits in different countries. Once the barrels are emptied, the fish is washed thoroughly. Some of the skin comes loose during this process, the rest is removed by hand. The rest of the fish is then spun in large drums to remove all the water. The dried fish bodies are then stored again at below 15°C. During the rest of the process, the fish are laboriously filleted by hand and filled into the tins and jars. Approx. 500 mainly female labourers are employed per shift. Each tin and jar is then weighed by hand, the container is topped up with oil, the lid is attached and mechanically sealed. The tin or jar is washed, dried, marked with ink jet, labelled and packed into boxes. They then head for the dispatch department where they are sent to many countries all over the world.