In this story
That tin on your supermarket shelf and the one we ship from Cambados are not the same fish. Not the same species, not the same mercury level, not the same ingredient list. Here's what the science actually says, myth by myth.
Myth: All tinned sardines are the same fish
They're not, and the tin won't tell you that.
Ramón Peña packs Sardina pilchardus — the true European sardine, caught fresh in the Rías Baixas of Galicia and in the tin within hours. Most budget sardines sold under that same word, "sardines," are something else entirely: Sardinella species, Sardinops sagax, or Sprattus sprattus, depending on where the tin was filled. That's not a knock on those fish — it's just that "sardine" is a catch-all trade term covering a dozen different species across three genera, and the label rarely says which one you're getting.
Same tin shape. Different fish inside.
Myth: Sardines are loaded with mercury
Backwards. Sardines are one of the lowest-mercury fish you can eat.
The FDA puts them at roughly 0.013 parts per million — near the bottom of the scale for any commonly eaten seafood. The reason is biology, not luck: sardines sit near the bottom of the food chain and live only three to four years. Mercury accumulates as it moves up the chain and as an animal ages, so a fish that's small, short-lived, and eats plankton simply never has time to build up what a longer-lived predator like swordfish or king mackerel does.
If you're avoiding fish because of mercury, sardines are the one you don't need to avoid.
Myth: Canned means packed with preservatives
Read the label. Ramón Peña's ingredient list is three words: sardines, olive oil, salt.
No added preservatives, because the can itself is the preservative. Heat sterilization plus a hermetic seal is what keeps the fish safe for years without refrigeration — the same principle that's kept canned food shelf-stable for two centuries. The process is timed and temperature-controlled specifically to cook the fish through without overcooking it, which is also why a well-made tin holds its texture instead of turning to paste.
Myth: Canned fish is a nutritional downgrade
The opposite is closer to true, and the bones are the reason.
Whole small fish get canned bones and all, and sterilization softens those bones enough to eat — which is where most of the nutrition sits. A 100g serving carries about 382mg of calcium, more than a glass of milk, plus roughly 1.5g of omega-3s, 21g of complete protein, and a solid dose of B12 and vitamin D. None of that gets lost to canning. If anything, sealing the fish within hours of the catch locks in nutrients that fresh fish loses in transit.
Myth: Canning turns fish to mush
That's a sourcing problem wearing a canning costume.
Ramón Peña packs whole fillets by hand, one at a time, which is why they hold their shape and bite instead of collapsing. Sterilization softens the bones — it doesn't touch the flesh. If a tin of sardines turns to mush, blame the fish that went in, not the process that came after.
The source: Cambados, Galicia, since 1920
Ramón Peña has hand-packed sardines from the Rías Baixas for over a hundred years — one species, one standard, no shortcuts. We're their exclusive distributor here in Singapore, which means every tin we sell traces back to the same fishing grounds and the same process that's been running since 1920.
Now you know what's actually in the tin. Shop the Silver & Gold range →