A Food Worker Is Cooking A Whole Salmon Fillet

Ensuring food safety and animal welfare at every stage

There are currently around fifty salmon slaughterhouses in Norway, located along our coastline near the salmon farms. We are continuously introducing stricter legislation to ensure that we're processing our salmon under satisfactory conditions.

Workers at conveyor preparing salmon fillets

From sea to shipment in just 6–8 hours

Transported live from the net cages in wellboats

De-stress period in waiting pen

Stunning and cooling

Cut the gills and throat

Bleeding

Gutting and filleting

Quality control and cleaning

Packing in a box with ice

The fish is given its 'salmon passport'

Stacking and transport

Harvesting our salmon

Live salmon is brought from the feeding pen to the waiting pens by wellboats. Then they are transported into the processing plant where we stun the fish before slaughtering them as quickly as possible, ensuring the minimum amount of stress. The gills and throat are then cut and the salmon is placed into tanks of cold fresh water to bleed out. This process also cleans the fish.

Workers sorting salmon

Gutting and quality grading

Once the salmon has bled out, it is gutted and sorted into size and quality - superior, ordinary or production. Then the salmon is packed or sent to filleting. The by-product is gathered and used for lower grade foods, such as animal feed, which reduces the environmental footprint.

Workers sorting salmon

Packed salmon in ice

Core temperature

To preserve the correct core temperature (2-4°C) our salmon is packed with ice. The boxes have been specially designed to keep the product cool all the way to its destination.

Packed salmon in ice

Worker holding salmon

Maintaining food safety at all times

The Norwegian Food Safety Authority monitors our food safety standards from fjord to fork. The strict control systems we use ensure the quality of all our salmon.

Worker holding salmon

Frequently asked questions

Salmon from Norway is taken straight from the sea or waiting pen and into the processing line. Processing takes approximately 4 to 6 hours – so our salmon is ready for transportation the very same day.

A plant can process between 50-120 tonnes per shift, but this depends on the size of the plant and how automated the processing line is.

A standard lorry can transport around 18 tonnes of salmon.

We have very strict regulations in place to protect food safety. This includes the regular cleaning of equipment and nets. We also have emergency plans in place to protect our food in case our strict food policies are compromised. You can read more about our policies on our pages on buying and selling.

Our salmon is transported around the world while some may be send for further processing, such as filleting or smoking. It may also go directly to a fishmonger in Norway or an importer in your country.

Salmon from Norway is distributed to more than 100 countries around the world.

Superior salmon is a first class product with characteristics which make it suitable for all purposes. The salmon will be without any substantial faults, damage or defects.
Ordinary salmon will have limited external or internal faults, damage or defects.
Production salmon will have additional faults, damage or defects which mean it is unable to be classed as superior or ordinary. These salmon will always be supplied as head off.
It must be noted that the minimum standard for export is ordinary. Production salmon is not sold to the retail trade, catering institutions or consumers.

Learn more about Norway

There is a wealth of knowledge and advice for you here at the Salmon Academy. Below are some suggestions for where to head next and learn more about our fish.

Quality and taste

See for yourself how great our salmon tastes.