eli5 why are sardine bones edible while most other fish bones can harm you if you eat them?

Question

eli5 why are sardine bones edible while most other fish bones can harm you if you eat them?

In: Biology

Answer 1

Canned fish like sardines and salmon are cooked for a few hours at 100°C, and then cooked for a few more hours at a higher temp. This ensures that the canned food is sterile and will be safe to eat years or potentially decades later. The fish is cooked for so long that the bones soften enough that they can be eaten safely, there’s no risk of them injuring your digestive system. 

Leaving skin and bone in the can has the added benefit of providing additional vitamins, minerals and healthy oils. Humans tend to be super picky about what we eat, animals are far less picky. They eat the skin, the organs, even some of the bones because there’s more vitamins and minerals in the parts humans don’t want to eat.