9420.pdf

4.3.2 Butchering for Canning
A typical flow diagram for salmon canning is shown in Figure 4.3. Dressing for canning
is generally done with an iron butcher which cuts off heads (including the collar bone),
tails and fins. Although the iron butcher can be used to slit and remove the viscera, this
is usually done by gutting and washing machines which results in better cleaning. Entrails
are removed with rotating wheels and brushes. Final cleaning is with water sprays.
The wash water, mixed with guts and blood, drains out at the bottom of the gutting
machines.
The fish are inspected after the gutting process and are further manually cleaned if
necessary. During this cleaning step, workers scrape and cut off remaining entrails and
fins, and remove bruises and blood clots. Typically, each manual cleaning station is
equipped with a small, constantly running, water hose to rinse off any offal and/or blood.
4.3.3 Salmon Canning
Salmon, butchered as described in Section 4.3.2, is fed into filling machines which cut the
fish into sections of appropriate size for the cans to be used in the canning machines.
Canning machines then press the salmon sections into cans which are subsequently
inspected by workers who rearrange the material in the cans for aesthetic purposes and
add additional material to under-weight cans (patching), if necessary. Lids are then lightly
clinched onto the cans, and the cans are sealed in the seamers which operate under
vacuum.,
Following the sealing, the cans are washed and placed in busses (slatted metal baskets
with movable bottoms) and pressure cooked in large retorts. After the cooking process
the cans are cooled with water, which must be chlorinated to a concentration of at least
2 mg/L for a minimum of 20 minutes to ensure disinfection.
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