Our products
The fish is transformed into a range of by-products through procedures of washing, sanitising, filleting, heading and removing the skin.
The resulting product may be reprocessed or divided into fillets, whole fish, whole gutted and/or headless fish for human consumption.
We also provide other foodstuffs for consumption (breaded chicken, chips, etc.), and our logistics are made available to customers. Extending the range of options with Congelados Ártico and Mc Cain Argentina enable us to continue growing.
The merchandise is always fresh. We work with all kinds of fish.
We buy the fish from third-party trawlers in the port of our city and/or at establishments authorised by the competent national authority (fishing takes place in the Argentine Sea/Southwest Atlantic Major Fishing Area 41). These products are prepared under the health and hygiene standards of SENASA and benchmark quality standards like E.E.C. andU.S.A.
Characteristics of the fish:
• Physical: No bruising, no belly bursting, no strange smells.
• Microbiological: In accordance with current demands of the competent authority and/or requirements of the purchaser.
• Chemical: Absence of contaminating foreign bodies, permitted parameters for heavy metals and volatile basic nitrogen (VBN) in accordance with different species.
The process of packaging products is interleaf using film or packed in small bags of low-density polyethylene (primary packaging, duly approved by the competent authority) and then placed into larger cardboard boxes (secondary packaging).
The lettering is in accordance with the SENASA and international standards, using labels printed out with indelible ink affixed to the secondary packaging. The end product is 100% fish in accordance with the species’ characteristics; which are subject to different methodology based on their type.
Logistics and operations
The end product is the result of several stages that take place within the establishment: some are critical checkpoints while others are simply checks. This enables us to verify all stages of processing and guarantee the hygienic-sanitary quality of our products.
1 – Selection and Purchase of Fish
The fish is selected once the trawlers unload in port, by inspecting the bins of each load. The fish is selected for its organoleptic features and the work carried out with the bins: conditioning of the whole fish (layout and quantity) and the presence of ice.
2 – Transport:
The fish are transported to the establishment on refrigerated trucks, authorised by the official authorities and accompanied by the corresponding documentation.
3 – Receiving the Fish
The fish are unloaded in their plastic containers. During this step, it is possible to inspect all containers of whole fish and adopt the measures required to maintain the quality of the fish until processing. Ice flakes are available if required, to be added to the containers.
4 – Cold Storage
All fish are stored in Cold Chamber No. 1, built completely with sanitary panels that guarantee a room temperature that ranges between-4°C and2°C.
5 – Cleansing the whole fish
The fish are emptied into sieves and then put in a tank with running water; washing is through immersion in chlorinated fresh water.
The containers that held the fish move to the container-washing sector, to be used as clean receptacles for organic solid waste.
6 – Filleting / Heading / Removal of skin:
The washed fish is sent to a clean area of the establishment and emptied onto filleting tables. Here the fish is manually cut into different by-products: H&G, HGT, fillet with / without skin.
The cutting is essential. Cutting is performed on sanitary surfaces; the operators deposit the fillets-with-skin on a plastic box before rinsing the worktop and proceeding to skin the fish before depositing the skinless fillets in a new plastic container.
The work surfaces have storage compartments for work tools as well as hoses with running fresh water.
The organic waste generated during the elaboration is deposited into clean containers and an operator in charge of this task collects the waste in the appropriate receptacles before taking it to the waste sector. An outsourced company transports the waste to a flour factory.
7 – Trimmings
At the buyer’s request, the fillets are turned on to a work surface for any extra trimmings and optional removal of bones.
8 – Packing
In this section the operators manually pack or position the shaped fish of fillets in moulds, separating them with polyethylene film (primary packaging). The moulds are adapted for transfer to the freezing sector in a stainless steel cart.
9 – Storage in Cold Chamber No. 2 (alternative)
Depending on production volume, there is another refrigeration chamber so that the fillet pending processing is kept at a temperature of between-2°C to2°C until it can be frozen.
