If the fish is processed before rigor mortis occurs, the natural shape of the fibres in the fish-meat stays intact and the moisture that makes it juicy remains in the cells.
Even though the fish we export is either salted or deep-frozen, it's still a fresh product by every standard. This is because we´re always racing against time – a biological, absolute factor, a change that happens gradually in a fish during the first hours after it's been slaughtered.
This change manifests itself as stiffness in the muscles that reaches its peak after eight to twelve hours depending on the temperature. This stiffness is called rigor mortis and defines a before and after for the quality of the fish.
If the fish is processed before rigor mortis occurs, the natural shape of the fibres in the fish-meat stays intact and the moisture that makes it juicy remains in the cells. If it's processed after, the fillet will get a completely different substance – it becomes dry and the quality drops exponentially.
Our fish is always processed pre-rigor. It never takes more than eight hours from when it's caught in the ocean until it's received in the facility. Instantly after the fish has been gutted it is placed on ice, reducing the temperature to one degree Celsius. This slows down the process causing rigor mortis.
The fish is processed instantly after it arrives at the reception station. The fish destined for cure with salting is processed at the reception station. The fish destined for the fillet factory is instantly delivered at the filleting facility situated just a few hundred meters from the reception station. It will be processed according to customers specification in one of the most advanced fillet factories on the planet. It can be processed into whichever size and packaging solution, fresh or frozen, well ahead of the time rigor mortis sets in.