Seafood Safety

Although I have not been cooking much seafood, but hey.... I think this is something really useful. Courtesy of "Auckland Fish Market".
 

Three Steps to Buying Fresh Fish

1. Smell

If you can smell the fish, then is not fresh. Fresh fish and seafood should have very little smell other than that of the sea.

2. See

Look at the fish. Whole fish should have the following appearance:

Eyes: clear eyes, with a black (not cloudy) pupil and translucent cornea.
Skin: should appear bright and firm, with a glossy sheen.
Gills: should be a bright pastel rose colour.
Fish fillets: Fillets should be translucent and firm, with an elastic texture. Avoid fillets that look yellowish, dry, or slimy.
Shellfish: Only buy live or frozen shellfish. Any with open shells should close when tapped. Do not buy shellfish with cracked or damaged shells. Discard any that do not open once they are cooked. Pre-opened scallops should have nice white meat and a bright orange roe.

3. Touch (for whole fish only)

If possible touch the fish. The flesh should be firm.

Safe Seafood Storage

Take the following steps to safely store fish and seafood:

Before storing

* Remove any wrapping or packaging.
* If necessary, wash the fish to remove scales or foreign matter.
* Ideally seafood should be stored on ice. Place a layer of ice in the bottom of a storage container, and cover ice with a sheet of plastic. Lay the fish or seafood on the plastic, put another sheet of plastic, then a layer of ice on top. Do not allow direct contact between the ice and seafood. Replace ice as it melts. Refrigerate as well, if possible or keep in chilly bin.
* If refrigerating whole fish, fillets or other types of seafood without ice place it on a large plate or dish, and loosely cover with plastic wrap to prevent it drying out.

Safe storage

* It should be stored on ice, or refrigerated at a temperature of between -1°C and 4°C.
* Ideally cook it the day it is bought or caught. Depending upon how fresh it was when first refrigerated, correctly stored fish can be kept for four to six days provided that it is kept at safe temperatures.
* Shellfish and crustaceans (e.g. prawns and crayfish) are best consumed on the day of purchase.
* Fish or shellfish loses one day of shelf life per hour stored at room temperature. Deterioration is faster if it is kept in the sun or other hot environment.
* Store seafood on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. Be sure to thoroughly clean up any spills.

Other notes

* Fish should be washed and lightly dried before cooking, if it has been stored for more than a day or two.
* Wash hands before and after handling fish and seafood!