Fish Union did not save its criticism as it sent a letter of complaint to the Norwegian Food Safety Authority (NFSA) following an inspection of the slaughterhouse, which has not been named.

“The company lacks a system for quality assurance” and “maximized production before stopping to undertake maintenance. This was detrimental to quality,” Fish Union said in its letter to the NFSA.

The factory’s fish were poorly washed, covered in blood and had not been bled long enough, Fish Union said. Blood had not been removed from gills and spine, it said.

The