LATVIA
Stema Real has over a decade of experience
Contract processing of non-sterilized products Stema produces non-sterilised products, salted and marinated pelagic ďŹ sh as well as peeled northern prawn, for distribution in supermarkets in Scandinavia. While most of the production is under private label the company harbours hopes of one day producing under its own brand.
S
terilisation is a thermal treatment process given to foods to neutralise pathogens and non-pathogenic microorganisms to make the food safe for consumption and to increase its shelf life, when stored under normal conditions. Non-sterilised products on the other hand do not undergo the same degree of thermal treatment and need therefore to be refrigerated to prevent spoilage. Stema is a processing company established in 2002 that specialises in nonsterilised products. According to Maris Stils, the managing director, there were good reasons for this decision. Latvia has a long history of sterilised canned fish production which companies are building on even today. There are several Latvian companies producing sterilised canned fish, says Mr Stils, and we saw no reason to get into that market to become just another producer of canned fish. This was one of the main reasons we decided to manufacture non-sterilised products. In 2002 the company put up therefore a purpose-built factory for nonsterilised products, at the time one of only a few of its kind in Latvia. But there was also another reason behind the decision to focus on non-sterilised products: the market for sterilised canned fish is mainly in Eastern Europe, while the non-sterilised products
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that Stema produces are sold mainly in the west.
Service for Scandinavian producers Stema provides a service making products to specification and under private label for companies that then sell them to Scandinavian supermarkets. Although private label is usually associated with supermarket brands, in this case the brands belong to the companies supplying the retailer. Since the factory opened 12 years ago the company has been producing for these suppliers, getting their recipes and manufacturing under their label. Although it has been over a decade since the factory started this activity Mr Stils has always dreamt about one day producing under his own label, although he is well aware of the pitfalls of trying to develop one’s own brand. One of the products in Stema’s assortment is canned marinated anchovy fillet. These are actually sprats that are caught in the North Sea and which are then placed in salt mixed with spices in barrels. The barrels contain 120 kilos of which 90 kg is the fish while the remainder is the salt and spices. This first stage of the production process, where the fish are layered with the salt-spice mixture is actually carried out by the fishers themselves. The sprats are
Maris Stils, managing director of Stema Real
allowed to mature in the barrels for several months and are then transported to the Stema production unit in Ventspils, where skilled workers process the small fish in three ways: as whole fish with head and tail; as cleaned and filleted; and finally as skinless fillets. The fish is then placed in jars or cans in a spicy and slightly sweet marinade that is common in Scandinavia. As it is a non-sterilised product, once the container is open the contents needs to be moved into another receptacle and refrigerated. The product can then be kept for 2-3 days.
Non-sterilised production is demanding Sprats from the North Sea are quite different from the Baltic Sea variety,
says Maris Stils. North Sea sprats are larger and have a higher fat content and a different taste and texture than the Baltic Sea sprat. There are fishers from different countries that catch and do the initial processing of the fish, for example, from the UK or from Sweden, but the fish itself is always from the North Sea. Immediately upon landing the fish is placed in barrels with the salt and stored for a period while the salt is absorbed. At Stema the marinade in which the fillets are laid is made following a recipe from the Danish partner. Once the marinated fillets are placed in the jars or cans they are packaged and then sent to Denmark. One of the critical differences between sterilised and nonsterilised products is that while sterilised products can be stored www.eurofishmagazine.com