The reason which led us in 1986 to create a new structure for the preparation and packaging of special products posing considerable transport and stocking problems, was the need to enable consumers to purchase these products in a totally hermetic, aseptic container with a considerably extended best before end time, as well as of suitable weight for all family cooking needs. The successful results were immediately encouraging. The first products of this series certainly were the most problematic, namely cod (Gadus Morhua for the Stella line) in its two typical Norwegian preservation formats: salted and dried (stockfish). Salted cod whole or filleted, reaches us from Norway in large packages. Once the contents have been verified, they are reselected according to quality and adequate size, portioned and manually placed in high capacity automatic thermoforming machines which provide for container tray formation and its sealing without the need for human intervention except for quality control. For the Aries line we use ling fillets (Molva molva). As stockfish, is extremely rigid, thick and inadequately shaped, it undergoes two processing stages before being packaged. In fact, after quality selection it is rolled through a Stella-designed machine with 12 overlapping rollers which flattens and softens the fish so as to render it easier to cook and then - the second step - trimmed in a machine with stainless steel belt saw which eliminates any cartilaginous residue. At this point the fish is vacuum-packaged. Whole Norwegian herring is another product in this line. The arrival at our factory of a suitable size of this fish allows us, after the usual quality control, to create vacuum packages of each single whole fish, therefore often containing the excellent eggs. Herring is supplied either natural or smoked, in such a way as not to alter in the least the original flavour of this tasty fish. Finally, for now, black and green olives are vacuum-packed either without processing, therefore maintaining the flavour of the olive intact, or with the addition of a mixture of various spices and oil which change the flavour, making it even more Mediterranean. All product packages are weighed on an automatic line on computer-aided scales, then labelled and carton-packed, thus ready to reach the various sale outlets. Naturally all raw materials used are packaged using suitable food films, and we are also up to date as regards their disposal system. Our products Recipes