On December 1, Spanish company Grupo Consorcio will celebrate 75 years of being an integral part of the global tuna industry. The Group is honoring this milestone by hosting a over one-month long exhibition ‘75 Years Preserving Our Heritage’, which kicked off earlier this week. Photographs of the sea and the people of Santoña, historical documents, advertisements, and vintage tuna and other seafood cans are some of the items on display. They were curated by popular architect Javier Sazatornil and historian Rómulo Martí, “who developed a narrative that unites the history of the company and that of Santoña,” reported Spanish news sites. The evolution of fishing techniques, specific characteristics of the species traded, and the integral role of women in the canning sector are also explained. The event will be held in the Doctor Madrazo Cultural Center until December 19.

Grupo Consorcio was founded in 1950 and is currently headquartered in Santoña, Spain, where it has a tuna processing plant. It also has a manufacturing site in Pisco, Peru, for canned anchovies. The company has a workforce of over 900 people.

Thai Union Group’s Migrant Health Volunteer Program is progressing. The initiative was launched in September 2024 to strengthen inclusive healthcare for migrant workers in Samut Sakhon, Thailand. The province is a major center for the company’s tuna canning operations. Through this program, migrant workers are trained as health volunteers, enabling them to support their communities and liaise with healthcare providers. Outpatient data from Samut Sakhon show that the most common health issues among this group of employees are work-related muscle disorders, hypertension, and diabetes. It underscores the need to raise awareness of lifestyle-related health risks, including excessive energy drink consumption, high-sodium diets, and smoking.

Since its launch, the program has trained 109 migrant workers, equipping them with practical health skills in preventive care, healthcare rights, and non communicable diseases education. After completing their training, they participated in assisting in the Subdistrict Health Promoting Hospital and community health activities. Twenty-three serve as interpreters, working alongside Thai health officials to facilitate communication with migrant patients.

Europe’s oldest tuna factory is located in Favignana, in the south of Italy, and currently serves as a museum about the first industrial canning of tuna. It also depicts the history of Sicily’s bluefin fishing and its fishermen. The Florio family built the facility in 1859 and the iconic nineteenth-century complex is now an industrial architectural heritage. Founder Vincenzo Florio invented the process of preserving bluefin by a steam cooking process and canning the fish in oil. This revolutionized the tuna canning industry and made his business a success.

The plant closed in 1977, but the areas where processing and landings of the fish took place remained intact. The shelters for the boats, the terrace where the nets were hung to dry, the cooking facility with the large red brick fireplaces, and the atrium with the original counters where the fish was canned are still there. The museum also shows the history of the Mattanza, the Sicilian bluefin fishing method and tradition, which has largely disappeared. The method is similar to the Spanish Almadraba.