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2. RAW MATERIALS
2.1 Fish and Other Marine Foods
Many types of fish, and other marine foods are suitable for canning, the size of the
individual fish varying from that of the smallest sardines to that of the largest tuna
species. For some species like tuna and sardines canning is the most important
processing method. Other species, suitable for canning are salmon, mackerel, herring,
clams, oysters, shrimps, octopus, crab and white fish paste products.
The Codex Alimentarius Commission recommends the following species of Tuna,
Bonito, Salmon and Shrimps to be canned:
Canned Tuna and Bonito (CODEX STAN 70-1981)
Thunnus alalunga
Thunnus albacares
Thunnus atlanticus
Thunnus obesus
Thunnus thynnus maccoyii
Thunnus thynnus orientalis
Thunnus thynnus thynnus
Thunnus tongoll

Euthynnus affinis
Euthynnus alletteratus
Euthunnus lineatus
Euthynnus pelamis (syn: Katsuwonus pelamis)
Sarda chiliensis
Sarda orientalis
Sarda Sarda
Sarda velox

Canned Sardines (CODEX STAN 94-1981)

Sardinops melanosticta
Sardinops neopilchardus
Sardinops ocellata
Sardinops Sagax or Sardinops caerulea
Sardina pilchardus (Walbaum)
Clupea harengus
Clupea antipodum
Clupea bassensis or
Clupea fuegensis
Sprattus sprattus
(Clupea sprattus)

Sardinella aurita
Sardinella anchovia
Sardinella brasiliensis or
Sardinella maderensis
Hyperlophus vittatus
Nematolosa vlaminghi
Etrumeus microps
Ethmidium maculatus
Engraulis anchoita
Engraulis ringens

Canned Pacific Salmon (CAC/RS 3-1969. Rev.1)

Oncorhynchus nerka
Oncorhynchus kisutch
Oncorhynchus tschawytscha

Oncorhynchus gorbuscha
Oncorhynchus keta
Oncorhynchus masou

Species of the families

Penaeidae
Pandalidae

Crangonidae and
Palaemonidae

A variety of products can be made using minced fish as main raw material.

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Unutilized or underutilized species (so called trashfish) with a nutritional value

comparable to that of valued food species can be an excellent source of raw material.
To plan the handling and processing of fish and to manage problems connected with all
operations from transport and processing through storage, it is essential to know the
physical and chemical properties of the species involved; these properties include
shape and size. thermal conductivity, chemical composition of fish and conditions
regarding post mortem changes. See Table 4.
Table 4. Various parts of the fish expressed in percentage of total weight and total fish
weight per cubic metre, for some important species used in canning
Percentage of total weight
Species

ton/m

Head

Skin &
flesh

Bones

Fins

Viscera

Atlantic
herring

12.5

62.2

6.5

1.5

15.0

0.91

Sardines

21.0

58.0

6.5

2.5

9.5

0.85

Atlantic
mackerel

22.5

52.0

8.0

1.0

19.5

0.96

Tuna

18.0

64.0

8.0

2.0

8.0

Pink
salmon

16.0

71.0 1/

5.0

8.0

0.95

1/ Including bones and gonads

2.2 fish handling

2.2.1 General
Information about fish handling prior to canning is given in detail in Planning and
Engineering Data, Fresh Fish Handling, FAO Fish. Circ. 735. In this context these data
are of most value where they concern operations of special importance for canning.

2.2.2 Fish handling on board

After washing, the raw material should be chilled as soon as possible, and kept chilled
until unloading. Depending on the type of fishing vessel the catch can be iced in boxes,
containers, or shallow bins.
In practice, however, methods for handling fish on board vary from doing little or
nothing, to chilling or freezing, depending on the type of vessels, area of catching and
fish species.
With large fish like tuna the most common method of handling on board smaller
vessels is washing and chilling with water and/or ice. Larger vessels are equipped with
tanks in which the fish is chilled. These tanks are either chilled sea water (CSW) tanks
or refrigerated sea water (RSW) tanks. The CSW- tanks are chilled with ice, and the
RSW- tanks are chilled by refrigeration. Air blast and brine freezing methods are also
commonly used. For more details concerning freezing methods, see "Freezing in
Fisheries". FAO Fisheries Technical Paper no. 167.

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Smaller species are chilled in CSW or RSW- tanks, and when in small quantities, iced
in boxes.
Industrial species intended for mincing must be handled (as with any high valued food
fish) according to good handling practice. The fish must be washed, and if the raw
material is by-catch from bottom trawling, all mud, sand, etc. must be rinsed away. If
possible, the fish must be sorted, but in some areas this is difficult as the catch consists
of several species, each in small quantities.

2.2.3 Unloading fishing vessels

Care must be taken during unloading and handling in order to avoid bruised fish and/or
skin abrasions. Allhough systems for unloading and handling fish depend on various
factors, the most common methods are as follows:
i.

Fresh fish is humped from the fish hold through scales or volume measuring
equipment to rolling conveyors for further -transport, or directly to tanks, bins,
etc.

ii.

Fresh or frozen fish is loaded into baskets or cases, heaved to the quay, by
either electrical dock hoists or by use of the vessel's own winch. and then
tipped into containers, before transport, or into bins before gutting or transport.
When the fish is iced into boxes, J or containers. on board. it is unloaded in a
similar way. When the boxes are stacked on pallets the entire pallet load is
heaved up.

iii.

Fish kept in CSW or RSW-tanks is heaved from the fish tank by use of nets.
Fish in bulk may also unloaded this way.

iv.

A conveyor system may be used for unloading fresh and frozen fish.

2.2.4 Fish handling on land

The processes and principles involved in preparing fresh fish for canning are, for the
most part, similar to those that would be involved in preparing them for marketing as
fresh fish. Therefore the general instructions described in the Recommended
International Code of Practice should be used as a guide for the handling and
preparation of fresh fish for canning (CAC/RCP 9-1976 and CAC/RCP 10-1976).
For information concerning icing, CSW, RSW, chill storage, containers for raw
materials, materials, freezing and frozen storage, readers are referred to planning and
Engineering Data I - Fresh Fish handling, FAO, Fish. Circ. 735, and freezing in
Fisheries, FAO Fisheries "-"' Technical Paper no. 167".
If the fish consists of industrial species, and sorting is not practical, the raw material
can be stored in containers and mixed with ice until use. If possible, the fish should be
kept in the same boxes or containers, without emptying and reicing, as this will be the
best means of maintaining quality;. sometimes however this is not possible, especially
in cases where the fishermen want their catches weighed immediately after landing.
The less the handling of the iced and boxed/containerized raw material, the longer will
quality be maintained.
It is not recommended to freeze fish which is to be used as a minced raw material.

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Frozen fish can be thawed by immersion in chilled water (temperatures above 15 C

are not advisable), water spraying or air current exposure. Thawing of frozen fish is an
important step in canned fish manufacture. For larger species, like tuna, thawing up to
12 hours or more is not unusual. As thawing of the fish is progressive, smaller species,
and exterior parts of larger species may reach the desired state of thaw while the inner
parts of larger species remain frozen.
Deterioration of fresh fish, especially whole uneviscerated tuna, is rapid at
temperatures sufficient to hasten thawing. The quality of the fresh tuna begins to
diminish before the last thawed portions have become unfrozen.

2.3 Ingredients and Additives

2.3.1 Quality requirements for water
All water available for use in those parts of an establishment where fish and shell fish
are received, kept, processed, packaged and stored should be potable water or clean
sea water and should be supplied at pressure of no less than 1.4 kg/cm.
An adequate supply of hot water of potable quality at a minimum temperature of 82C
should be available at all times during the plant operation (CAC/RCP 9-1976).
The cold water supply used for cleaning purposes should be fitted with an in-line
chlorination system allowing the residual chlorine content of the water to be varied at
will in order to reduce multiplication of micro-organisms and prevent the build-up of fish
odours.
Water used for washing or conveying raw materials should not be recirculated unless it
is restored to a level of potable quality.
Non-potable water may be used for such purposes as producing steam, cooling heat .
exchangers and fire protection. It is very important that both-systems of storage and
distribution of potable and non-potable water are entirely separate and there is no
possibility for cross-contamination or for inadvertent usage of non-potable water in the
fish or shellfish processing areas. Only potable water should be used for the supply of
hot water. The same requirements for the separation of systems would apply to clean
sea water when it is used in the processing of fish (CAC/RCP 9-1976).

2.3.2 Quality requirements for other ingredients and additives

Salt used for making brine or other purposes should be pure and not contain
appreciable quantities of magnesium chloride, a common contaminant of unrefined
salt. If the salt contains too much magnesium chloride the risk of struvite formation
increases; this may concern consumers as struvite can form crystals resembling glass
in the canned fish.
Salt should comply with the "Codex Alimentarius Specifications for Food Grade Salt"
(being-developed by the Codex Committee on Food Additives).
Olive oil intended for canning has to be one of the two following categories (Research
Laboratory of the Norwegian Canning Industry):

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i.

Virgin olive oil produced by mechanical processes, or:

ii.

Olive oil produced by blending of virgin olive oil with chemically refined virgin
olive oil which is produced from pure virgin olive oil.

Olive oil intended for canning Norwegian sardines may be blended to a maximum of 35
% with chemically refined oil. For canned fish other than Norwegian sardines,
chemically refined virgin oil as such is accepted in addition to the olive oil specified.
Olive oil should be extracted from sound olives, without any admixture of other oils
(fat). Further, the oil must be free from any admixture of refined solvent-extracted olive
oil. Synthetic olive oil is strictly forbidden.
The oil shall be clear, free from mucilage, mould or other impurities. The oil shall also
be free from moisture.
The colour of the oil shall be yellow to golden with only a slight tinge of green.
Odour and taste of the oil shall be pure, good and natural, not acrid, bitter or too strong.
The oil must be resistant to cold.
Soya bean oil should be free from foreign and rancid odour and taste. Colour additives
are permitted for the purpose of restoring natural colour lost in processing or for the
purpose of standardizing colour, as long as the added colour does not deceive or
mislead the consumer by concealing damage or inferiority or by making the product
appear to be of greater than actual value.
Maximum level of use is not limited for such additives.
Natural flavours and their identical synthetic equivalents, except those which are known
to represent a toxic hazard, and other synthetic flavours approved by the Codex
Alimentarius Commission, are permitted if they fullfill the limitations mentioned in the
text above.
Other additives as antioxidants, antioxidant synergists and crystallization inhibitors are
permitted in soya bean oil.
Tomato sauce should be made from sound raw materials without any decomposition by
mould, yeast or bacteria. The canned tomato sauce should not contain microbes which
can develop at a normal storage temperature. The colour should be red, even with a
faint tinge of yellow, but never brownish. Odour and taste should be pure and natural.
The tomato sauce should be heterogeneous and not contain too much seeds or skin.
The total solids shall not exceed 30% (Tripple concentrated tomato sauces are not be
permitted). The content of sugar is not permitted to be reduced below 40% of. the total
amount of solids.
The tomato sauce must not contain any extraneous matters (such as carrots etc.).
Artificially colouring or any kind of preservatives, except salt are not permitted.
(Research Laboratory of the Norwegian Canning Industry).
Examples of other ingredients and additives used in the canning process are:

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Pepper (Piper nigrum l.)

Cardemon (Elletria cardamomum)
Ginger (Zingiber officinale roscae)
Onion (Allium cepa allium ascalonicum)
Spirit vinegar (Solution containing vinegar acid, CH3
concentrate from 4 to 12 %)
Ground mustard seed (Brassica species)
Curry powder
Starch (potatoes flour)
Mono Sodium Glutamate (MSG)
Stabilizing agents as sodium alginate and gum tragacanth
Milk
Sugar
Wine
Beer

COOH,

The ingredients should be suitable for human consumption and be free from abnormal
taste, flavour and odour.

2.4 Packaging Materials

The most common material used for manufacturing containers for fish products are tin
plate, aluminium and lacquered steel plate (TFS). Flexible packaging as an alternative
to metal cans has become more common during the last years and glass jars are
sometimes used for speciality packs.

2.4.1 Tin plate

Tin plate is steel sheet coated with a thin layer of tin on each surface. Because of its
strength and rigidity tin plate forms an ideal material for food containers. In addition to
the benefits of its bright appearance and ease of soldering, the major function of the tin
layer is to protect the base steel from corrosion. Mechanical properties such as
strength, stiffness, etc., are controlled in the manufacturing process to suit the
specifications of the can maker. Minimum thickness of tin plate for can making is 0.15
mm (Palling, 1980). The main factors of importance are chemical composition and
physical properties of the base plate, thickness of tin coating, application of protective
coatings and relative corrosivity of the product which is to be canned.
Low carbon steel is used for can manufacture. The chemical composition of the base
steel plate is of primary importance in obtaining adequate service-life for corrosive,
products; the most critical element is phosphorus, but other elements such as copper
nickel, chromium and silicon may also affect the corrosion resistance of the plate. 'Two
basic types of stell (L and MR) are used for different food products and a third type (D)
is used for unusual drawing operations. For low-acid products, such as fish the steel
type has no important influence on corrosion and any of the available types may be
used, nevertheless MR steel is usually required. Originally tin plate coating weight
specifications were expressed in terms of the "base box" which was an industry
measure. Tin plate was sold in only one size sheet (356 x 508 mm), and bundled 112
sheets to a package. The total area of plate in such a package (20.22 m2) came to be
known as a base box, the weight of which varied with the thickness of the steel (Ellis,
1979).

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Formerly, tin plate was made by immersing sheets of "black" plate in molten tin (hence
this plate was known as hot dip plate) .Nowadays electrolytic plating techniques are
used to apply tin to the base steel plate. This method permits thinner tin coatings (0.38
to 2.03 microns) on each side of the plate surface. The electrolytic tinning process
permits also a close control over deposition of the tin coating layer. The most common
coating weights are 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1.00 lb per base box which corresponds to
5.6, 11.2, 16.8 and 22.4 g/m, respectively (when considering both plate surfaces). In
the metric system coating weight is expressed as the weight of tin on each surface.
Thus a total tin coating weight of 5.6 g/m is listed as 2.8/2.8 g/m (Ellis 1979), which
signifies that on each surface the tin coating weight is 2.8 g/m. Differentially coated tin
plate has different tin coating weights on each surface; the heavier coating usually
being on the inside of the container.

2.4.2 Tin-free steel (TFS)

The tin-free steel is one of the newer can-making materials. Untinned steel on which
very thin layers of chromium-oxide have been electrodeposited is resistance to
corrosion and discolouration. Disadvantages are that the plate must be, coated on both
sides and that it cannot be soldered. It is principally used for the ends of the cans.

2.4.3 Aluminium alloys

Aluminium alloys are finding increasing use in the can making industry. Advantages of
aluminium include the light weight of the material resistance to atmospheric corrosion
and to sulfide-bearing products (commonly found in fish products) and versatility for
making containers by different methods. Disadvantages include difficulties in closing
the body seam by soldering and the necessity for heavier gauges which are required to
obtain strength comparable with tin plate. Sheet made with pure aluminium has
mechanical and physical properties which limit its use as a can-making material.
Increased strength is obtained by alloying aluminium with one or more other metals
such magnesium and manganese. Minimum thickness of aluminium for use in fish cans
is 0.28 mm.

2.4.4 Enamel coatings

Enamel coatings are used to protect tin plate, aluminium alloys and TFS, The coatings
can be applied to sheets and coils either before and after cans are made. In some
cases, coatings make it possible to use more lightly coated grades of tin plate or tinfree steel. The enamels or lacquers were originally prepared from polymerized fish oil
but today lacquers are made from synthetic materials which provide better
performance.

2.4.5 Retortable pouches

Retortable pouches for thermoprocessed food as an alternative to metal cans and
glass jars have found increased use during recent years. The pouches are heat
sterilized in retorts and the sterility maintained by the impermeability of the material and
the hermetic seals of the pouches. Characteristics for their use include (Lampi, 1979)
convenience fore-heating by immersion in boiling water. rapid sterilization as the flat.
thin cross section of the pouch permits rapid heat transfer to the contents. energy
conservation. and space utilization.

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Retortable pouches are made from rigid or flexible materials. Rigid pouches are
constructed with high density polyethylene (HDPE), whereas flexible pouches may be
made from a lamination which consists of an outer polyester ply, an aluminium foil, as
the primary material. and an inner ply which is made of modified polyolefin (medium to
high density polyethylene modified with polyisobutylene) or cast polypropylene.
Products are being commercially packed in a film described as 12 microns polyester, 9
microns aluminium oil, 15 microns nylon and 50 microns polypropylene, and processed
at temperatures up to 135 C for times ranging from 2.7 to 9 minutes (Lampi, 1979).

2.4.6 Glass
The principles of processing with glass are substantially the same as for cans, except
that there are some modifications necessary because of the sealing mechanism used
and the thermal characteristics of the glass. As with cans, glass containers must be
hermetically sealed; this is achieved by using a metal closure into which has been
placed a plastisol lining compound that acts as a sealant between the glass and the
metal cap.
Glass containers are processed under water in a counter-balanced retort. The water
prevents thermal shock breakage as steam enters the retort while the counterbalancing air transmits pressure through the water ensuring that at all times the
pressure in the retort is greater than that in the sealed container.
As glass is resistant to all food products no internal surface treatment is required. The
metal closures however must be protected from corrosion and for this reason are
internally and externally lacquered.
Table 5 Size of 2-piece cans for different types of the most important fish products
Type of
can

Material

Volume
(ml)

Length
(mm)

Width
(mm)

Height
(mm)

Product

Net
weight
(g)

Fish
weight
(g)

1/4 dingley

aluminium
tin plate

112

105

76

21.5

sardines,
small fish

106

85

1/4 club *

aluminium
tin plate

115

105

60

29

sardines,
small
fish, tuna

125

95

1/2 hansa *

aluminium
tin plate

200

148

81

26

herrings

195

130

1/2 oblong

aluminium
tin plate

212

154.7

61

30

kippers

225

225

1/3 oval

tin plate

200

149

81

25

mackerel

195

130

1/2 oval

tin plate

270

149

81

25

mackerel

250

180

* Noblikk-Sannem A/S standards.

Table 6 Size of 2- and 3-piece cans for different types of the most important fish
products
Type of
can

Material

Volume
(ml)

Diameter
(mm)

Height
(mm)

Product

Net
weight
(g)

Fish
weight
(g)

2-piece
round

aluminium

225

90

40

shrimp

217

150

2-piece
round

aluminium

115

78

32

shrimp

111

75

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Type of
can

Material

2-piece
1/2 pound
round

aluminium
tin plate

Volume
(ml)

Diameter
(mm)

245

90

Height
(mm)

Product

Net
weight
(g)

Fish
weight
(g)

44

fish with
vegetables,
herring,
tuna

230

460

2-piece 1
pound
round

tin plate

490

120

49

fish with
vegetables,
herring,
tuna

3-piece
round

tin plate

212

83.8

46

tuna

200

155

3-piece
round

tin plate

400

99.5

60

tuna

377

292

3-piece
round

tin plate

450

72

119

cod roe in
brine

425

300

3-piece
round

tin plate

450

101

64

fish cakes

400

260

3-piece
round

tin plate

900

101

121

fish balls

800

520

3-piece 5
kg round

tin plate

4 250

218

123

tuna,
sardine

4 000

3 100

3-piece 10
kg round

tin plate

8 500

218

245

tuna

8 000

6 200

* Depends on amount of vegetables.

2.4.7 Construction of metal containers

Metal containers are normally divided into two groups:

2-piece cans (square, oval or round).

3-piece cans with soldered or welded body (square, oval or round).

Specifications for the most common metal containers are shown in Tables 5 and 6.

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