Handling 

 Seafood 



Safely 

 at 



Home 



By Carla B. Burgess 



The responsibility for seafood quality 

 and safety doesn't end at the grocery 

 store or at the processing plant. 



It carries over into our own kitchens 

 and what we do there. 



Sea Grant's seafood education special- 

 ist Joyce Taylor offers some tips on how 

 to ensure a top-notch meal. 



"The most important consideration in 

 handling seafood at home is just plain 

 old cleanliness," says Taylor. 



Follow these guidelines during sea- 

 food preparation to assure sanitation: 



• Wash hands frequently with soap and 

 warm water before working with a new 

 food or utensil. 



• Prevent cross-contamination; never let 

 raw seafood come in contact with cooked 

 food. Use a clean cloth or paper towels 

 while cooking. 



• Use an acrylic cutting board, never a 

 wooden one. 



• Wash boards, counters and all utensils 

 in detergent and hot water. 



• Thaw frozen seafood overnight in refrig- 

 erator or under cold running water. Never 

 let seafood thaw at room temperature. 



• Don't leave cooked seafood out on the 

 counter too long. Store in the refrigerator 

 within two hours of cooking. 



Some harmful substances in raw sea- 

 food—such as parasites— are eliminated 

 by cooking. 



Salmonella, a bacteria that can cause 

 food poisoning, is also killed through 

 proper cooking. 



But suppose you like to fish for your 

 supper? 



Then from the nibble on the end of 



your line to the delectable morsel on the 

 end of your fork, you've got to be 

 prepared. 



"I always tell people to ice fish the 

 minute you get them out of the water,' ' 

 Taylor says. "You can't ice them too 

 soon." 



Take special precautions with species 

 such as tuna and mackerel, where im- 

 proper handling can cause more than 

 spoilage. If these species heat up, they 

 can cause an allergic reaction that no 

 amount of cooking will prevent. 



Taylor recommends dressing these fish 

 immediately, or at least heading, gutting 

 and rinsing them before icing them 

 down. 



Superchilling, a combination of ice 

 and salt in a cooler, is a good method for 

 storing fresh fish when you're going to 

 be out a few days. 



It's not uncommon to see people fish- 

 ing all day on a beach or pier while the 

 three or four fish they've caught lie in a 

 bucket of water beside them. Then they 

 wonder why their fish aren't pleasing to 

 the palate. 



"They had cooked them in that bucket 

 before they took them home is why,' ' 

 Taylor says. 



"A lot of fish, if poorly handled, are 

 not going to make you sick," she says. 

 "They're just going to taste bad." 



To learn more about how to properly 

 handle, prepare, transport and store fresh 

 fish, write Sea Grant for a copy of Bring- 

 ing the Catch Home, publication UNC- 

 SG-86-26. The brochure costs 50 cents. 



Joyce Taylor 



Photo by The Charlotte Observer 



Seafood- borne diseases most often fall 

 into one of three categories. 



Raw molluscan shellfish— Shellfish 

 harvested from water contaminated with 

 harmful bacteria and viruses can transfer 

 these diseases to consumers if the shellfish 

 are eaten raw or partially cooked. 



Runoff from farms and cities, malfunction- 

 ing septic tanks and poor sewage treatment 

 facilities are all causes of contamination. In 

 North Carolina, the Division of Shellfish 

 Sanitation monitors our waters to detect 

 bacteria that indicate the presence of harm- 

 ful viruses. 



If bacteria levels are high, then waters 

 are closed to shellfishing. Currently, oysters 

 and clams cannot be harvested from 

 370,081 coastal acres to protect public 

 health. 



Shellfish harvested from contaminated 

 waters can carry gastrointestinal viruses 

 and hepatitis. 



Scombroid poisoning— Species such as 

 tuna, mackerel and bonito have high levels 

 of an ammo acid called histidine in their 

 bodies. If, after harvesting, these fish are 

 not iced and kept cool, the histidine breaks 

 down through bacterial action to become 

 histamines that can cause an allergic reac- 

 tion for consumers. 



The reaction can include sweating, a 

 peppery sensation around the mouth, dizzi- 

 ness, nausea and diarrhea. The discomfort 

 usually lasts four to six hours. 



Cooking the fish will not prevent the 

 reaction. 



Ciguatera— This problem is restricted to 

 tropical fish. It is a toxin that begins with a 

 dinoflagellate bloom around reefs and is 

 passed up the tropical food chain. 



The toxin is not detectable by taste, smell 

 or sight. 



The onset of the symptoms of this toxin 

 occur rapidly. They are nausea, vomiting, 

 headache, a tingling in the mouth and 

 throat, and a reversal of hot and cold 

 sensitivity. 



If you exhibit any of these symptoms and 

 think they are being caused by eating 

 tainted seafood, call your doctor or hospital 

 immediately. 



