Canned Sardines

CANNED SARDINES

Raw Materials: 1. Sardine several types of small, oily fish related to herrings, family Clupeidae. Sardines are named after the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, around which they were once abundant. Rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which reduce the occurrence of cardiovascular disease. They are also a good source of vitamin D, calcium, B12, and protein. 2. Liquid Solutions Salt, olive oil, Soya bean oil, Fish oil, Tomato sauce, etc. 3. Other ingredients and additives Pepper , Cardamom, Ginger, Onion, Spirit vinegar, Ground mustard seed, Curry powder, Starch (potato flour), Mono Sodium Glutamate (MSG) 

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Types of Canned Sardines:

1. Sardines in Oil 2. Sardines in Tomato Sauce Packaging Materials:

1. Tinplate The most frequently used form of packaging for canned fishery products Fabricated into two and three piece cans of a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Tinplate consists of a base plate of low-carbon mild steel, onto each surface of which is electrolytically deposited a layer of tin. 2. Aluminum Can be easily fabricated, and has good corrosion resistance. ease of opening tear-off ("easy-open") ends; light weight and recyclable 3. Plastics and Laminates Retortable pouch: which because of its flat profile and correspondingly high surface area to volume ratio (relative to that of cans), heats more rapidly than conventional cans. 4. Glass Rarely used for fishery products which are preserved by heat alone However, it is frequently chosen to package semi-preserved items such as salted fish, pickled herrings, and caviars.   

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Flowchart of Operation

1. Traditional Mediterranean Method Sardines are fed automatically or manually to the nobbing machines in which the heads, viscera and tails are removed, and then the sardines are pre-cooked. 2. Norwegian Method The fish are not eviscerated and are usually hot smoked. Evisceration is unnecessary because the catch is held alive for at least 48 hours in nets prior to landing, while the smoking process replaces flash pre-cooking. 

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Production of Sardines in Oil

The operations after the thawing of the frozen fish or after transporting the fresh fish from the chill store are as follows: 1. Grading The sardines are size-graded by an automatic grading machine which selects sardines to suit the size of cans used in the plant. The number of sardines per can permitted for various can types is comprised between 4 and 14 pieces/can . The smallest size of sardines allowed for canning (in Norway) is 9.5 cm. 

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2. Nobbing The sardines are discharged onto a conveyor for transportation to the nobbing machine where the head and guts of the fish are removed. On a typical nobbing machine, the fish are placed on continuous belts with one fish in each compartment. The belt feeds the fish to a cutting wheel which cuts the head, and together with the guts, draws it away from the body with rollers. If necessary the tails are cut in the same operation. The packers examine the fish to ensure complete removal of guts. 

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3. Washing The sardines pass through a washing process to r emove blood and surface slime. Washing should be with potable water or sea water of similar quality.  

4. Brining Gives the sardines the desirable salt content (about 1-2% o f the fish weight). The sardines are then transported, usually by a conveyor, to a brining machine, which is equipped with a filter to screen particles from the brine. Brightens the appearance of the fish by removing remaining slime and also toughens the skin. The fish are allowed to drain before being transported to the packing table.  

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5. Packing  

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The sardines are packed (manually or automatically) into pre-washed cans. A manually operated packing line is equipped with conveyor belts, the speed of which can be altered in order to ensure a smooth supply of sardines and cans to the packers. The filled cans and waste are removed by the conveyor after packing. In common sardine lines the filled cans pass o ver a weight control unit to a can aligner and then to a can pusher, which automatically feeds the conveyor transferring them to the precooker.

6. Cooking A typical flash cooker for sardines consists of 2 sections, one for cooking (in steam at about 95 °C) and one for drying (in hot air at about 130 °C). The heat in the cooking section is obtained from supply of direct steam while the heat in the drying section is indirectly supplied from a heat exchanger. A fan located on the top of the section circulates the heated air. 

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7. Seaming From the cooker, the cans are automatically transferred onto a conveyor which takes then to the oil dispenser and onto the seaming machine where they are sealed. 

8. Can washing Before the retorting process the cans are washed to remove fish residues and oil from the outside of the containers. 

9. Sterilization All canned fish products are sterilized at temperatures above 100 ºC. Sterilization takes place in retorts, with or without water. Overpressure is between 2-3 kg/cm². Processing conditions shown are suitable for those canneries , operating under conditions of good manufacturing practice. The retorts are horizontal, or vertical, batch retorts. 

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10. Storage If necessary the cans should be washed before temporary storage, however under no conditions should the processed cans be manually handled while wet. 

Production of Pre-smoked Sardines in Tomato Sauce

Most of the operations in this process are similar to those described for canning sardines in oil. 1. Grading, Brining Similar to the operation described for caning sardines in oil. 

2. Rodding The fish are hung on rods through the eyes. This operation can be done automatically or manually. 

The automatic rodding being a complicated process is only practised in large plants. The rodded fish are placed into frames (accommodate for 30 rods, each with 30 fish) which are fitted to the smoking racks. 3. Smoking The fish are smoked for approximately 1 hour at temperatures up to 130°C. Enhances the flavor and lowers the water content of the fish. The air passes through a heat exchanger while smoke added. The smoke is produced by a smoke generator using sawdust from hard woods (oak or similar). 

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4. Nobbing The bodies of the fish are separated from the heads with an automatic cutting machine. The heads are then removed from the rods with an automatic rod stripping machine. 

5. Packing, filling of sauce, seaming Similar to those described for canning sardines in oil. When preparing tomato sauce, puree of good quality must be used and to this is added olive oil or fish oil, etc. (1 part oil and 2 parts tomato puree of 20% concentration).  

6. Can Washing, Sterilization, Storage All subsequent operations are similar to those described for canning sardines in oil. 

Quality Standards for Canned Sardines 

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The International Organization for Standardization (ISO), defines quality as "the totality of  features and characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs."(ISO 8402). The quality of fish and fish products depends on safe and hygienic practices. The Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) is a sufficiently flexible system that should be successfully applied at all critical stages -- from harvesting of fish to reaching the consumer. The fishing industry must ensure that their fish handling, processing and transportation facilities meet requisite standards. Outbreaks of fish-borne illnesses are reduced if appropriate practices are followed when handling, manufacturing, refrigerating and transporting fish and fish products. Ensuring standards of quality and safety are high also minimizes the post-harvest losses.

Quality Parameters for Canned Sardines

1. Thermal Destruction of Bacteria Makes use of heat (alone or in combination with other means of preservation), to kill or inactivate all microbial contaminants, and to package the product in hermetically sealed containers so that it will be protected from recontamination. Canned fish manufacturers must be sure that the thermal processes given their products are sufficient to eliminate all pathogenic spoilage micro-organisms. Clostridium botulinum - able to reproduce inside the sealed container, and can lead to the development of a potentially lethal toxin. Safety for the end-user and commercial success for t he canner can only be relied upon when all aspects of thermal processing are thoroughly understood and adequately controlled. 

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2. Raw Material Handling The use of ice which is applied directly to the fish; Immersion in chilled sea water (CSW) tanks; Immersion in refrigerated sea water (RSW) tanks; or Freezing of fish harvested long distances from the cannery, or for fish which is received fresh or chilled but which is to be held in frozen storage until processing. Ensures that fish are received in a condition enabling manufacture of a commercial quality product.    

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3. Pre-cooking An excessive treatment tends to reduce yields, whereas inadequate pre-cooking means that the purpose of the treatment is not achieved. Pre-cooking conditions are usually established through pilot trials in which center temperatures of the product at the completion of a "satisfactory" process are measured, or alternatively, the time (at pre-cooking temperature) required to bring about the desired effect is determined. 

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4. Filling Fill weights, and fill temperatures for hot fill products, are monitored because both affect the rate of heat transfer to the SHP of the can during retorting. Because filling can be critical to product safety, it is imperative that it be carried out under strict control. Headspace is necessary so that thermal expansion does not result in an excessive build-up of  pressure and damage to the seal. Under normal circumstances seams withstand the strains generated by internal pressure, otherwise this causes permanent deformation (known as peaking or buckling) of the can end. Since peaking is a consequence of excessive internal pressure in the can, it can be prevented by controlling the fill temperature and vacuum closing. 

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5. Sealing Manufacturers must be sure that their operations are strictly monitored at regular intervals throughout the entire production. Once sealing machines have been adjusted, suitably trained personnel must confirm their satisfactory performance by examination of sealed containers. It is important that sealed containers be indelibly coded with details of the production date and time, product codes, the manufacturing plant, and any other information that is necessary to identify the origin and nature o f the product. 

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References: http://foodquality.wfp.org/FoodProcessing/Cannedfoodproduction/tabid/347/Default.aspx http://foodquality.wfp.org/FoodProcessing/Cannedfoodproduction/tabid/347/ Default.aspx?PageContentID=472 http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/003/T0007E/T0007E00.htm#Contents http://www.fpeac.org/seafood/IndustrialWasteAbatement-Seafood.pdf  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sardine