Category Archives: Seafood is Safe to Eat

SEAFOOD IS SAFE TO EAT

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• Rinse raw seafood under cold, running water to remove bacteria.
• Always marinate your seafood under refrigeration, never at room temperature.  
• Cook seafood thoroughly with a continuous heat source because interrupted cooking could promote bacterial growth.  Keep hot foods at 140⁰ F or higher and cold foods at 41⁰ F or lower.
• Never leave cooked seafood at room temperature for more than 30 minutes.
• Cook seafood for 10 minutes per inch of thickness, and measure at the thickest point.  If baking, cook at 450⁰ F and deep fat fry at 375⁰ F.  Add five minutes to your total cooking time if your fish is cooked in a sauce or is wrapped in foil or parchment.  The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) recommends fish reach an internal temperature of 145⁰ F for 15 seconds.
• The FDA recommends that in-shell oysters be steamed four to nine minutes or broiled three to five minutes after gaping.  Shucked oysters should be fried for three minutes at 375⁰ F; broiled, three minutes three inches from the heat source; baked, 10 minutes at 475⁰ F; or boiled, three minutes.
• Clams should be steamed for four to nine minutes.

From: Mariner’s Menu: 30 Years of Fresh Seafood Ideas

Contributed by Barry Nash

SEAFOOD IS SAFE TO EAT

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Seafood is an important part of a healthy diet because it is a good source of high-quality protein, is generally low in calories and fat, and has Omega-3 fatty acids that have many positive health benefits. The American Heart Association and Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 recommend eating at least two servings of seafood each week.

However, some consumers hear negative information about one type or species of seafood such as oysters and avoid seafood all together. In addition, food safety messages for certain “at-risk” groups are frequently misunderstood or followed by consumers who are not at risk.

Therefore, remind consumers that eating any raw animal food is risky, but cooking and effective post-cooking handling reduces the risk of foodborne illness.

Prevention

How to reduce the risk of bacterial infection by Vibrio vulnificus is important for everyone. However, some helpful ideas for educating consumers are:

• Consumers with weakened immunity such as diabetics, dialysis patients and individuals with liver disease, cancer or AIDS are advised to eat only thoroughly cooked seafood and avoid consuming raw seafood, especially oysters.
• Stress that thorough cooking kills harmful bacteria and viruses in seafood, meat and poultry. Demonstrate the proper cooking of shellfish and/or provide cooked oyster recipes.
• Obtain free consumer brochures from the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference, or ask your physician or other health care professionals to provide free ISSC Vibrio vulnificus Fact Sheets.

Remember, thorough cooking of oysters will destroy the potentially harmful Vibrio bacteria!

Source: This information was provided by SafeOysters.org

Contributed by David Green