True North Salmon

Buying fresh salmon

How to buy fresh Heritage Atlantic Salmon

Customers typically want to be assured that your fish is truly fresh. You can help by sharing the tips below with your customers.

For Fresh Atlantic Salmon Steaks and Fillets

Bright orange-to-red colour
Slight sheen
Somewhat translucent
Smooth, clean cut
Muscle fibres should be close together with minimal gaping
Meat is firm and moist
Aroma should be mild, and somewhat similar to fresh fruit
If it smells fishy, it's not fresh

Whole Atlantic Salmon

Eyes are clear, bright and slightly bulging
Gills are bright, reddish-pink
Skin is shiny, with no scars or scrapes
Body is firm, straight, and elastic
Colour should be bright pink or red
Scales are silvery and firmly attached to the skin
Belly is intact, with no cuts, tears or discolouration
Flesh is tight to the bone
Fresh Atlantic Salmon will not have a fishy odour!

Packaged Atlantic Salmon

Only buy Atlantic Salmon in a sealed container that contains no liquid.

What are these red spots?

Even though we handle our Heritage Atlantic Salmon with the utmost care, sometimes Heritage Salmon are bruised during processing. This shows up on the flesh as a red spot. It's visually unappealing but harmless. So if you see a red spot, simply remove the bruised area and discard.

Gaping

Gapes form when the muscle fibres in Atlantic Salmon separate. Gapes may be just a slight separation at the surface or may continue right through the muscle to the skin of the fillet. Minor gaping happens, but excessive gaping occurs because of poor handling, improper storage or with fish that's less fresh.

Want to share these handy True North freshness facts? Print out this card and place it where your customers can see it.