Treat Your Seafood Right!
PROPER HANDLING OF FISH AND SEAFOOD
- Fish should be stored in the coldest part of the refrigerator in its original packaging. Remember to keep raw products separated from cooked products.
- To avoid cross contamination, do not use the same utensils or cutting boards with both raw and cooked seafood products.
- Fish is best cooked quickly with high heat. Cook finfish to an internal temperature of 145 degrees. The fish should flake easily with a fork.
- Fish is a versatile protein, and there are numerous cooking methods appropriate for fish, such as baking, broiling, grilling, microwaving, poaching, sautéing, steaming and stir frying.
- Live lobsters and crabs should be cooked the same day as purchased.
- Freezing fish and shellfish locks in color, flavor and moisture. Frozen fish and shellfish are of best quality when used within 3 to 6 months of purchase and are free of freezer burn or ice crystals.
- And remember: seafood is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle! In fact, in its 2005 Dietary Guidelines, the U.S. government prominently featured recommendations for Americans to maintain a healthy weekly serving of fish in their diets.
--Info courtesy of the National Seafood Industry
Published 09/26/08
