The preservation of foodstuff is almost as old as civilization itself.Drying, smoking and specially salting were the most commonly used methods to preserve food.
Galicia was already well known by its salting plants by the time of Roman Empire. Its valuable products were sent to every corner of the Empire. We still preserve archaeological ruins of many of those incipient industries in places like Vigo, Cangas, Bueu, Vilagarcía, Viveiro… Many of those sites can be visited and are very interesting from the archaeological point of view. We have a lot of objects found there too, and you can go and see them in Vigo, Pontevedra or Santiago de Compostela museums.
This activity continued throughout Middle and Modern ages, and it reached its splendour and greatest development in the 19th and 20th centuries in shores of the fertile and beautiful Galician ‘rías’ (stuaries), changing salting for canning industries.
In Galicia tradition, the most exquisite sea products, hard-working people and advanced new technologies come together to offer the world the best canned fish and seafood.