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Thurston County Extension
Food Safety: All About Foods
Fresh Fish Deserves Extra Care
The Olympian, May 13, 1998
A salmon steak lightly seasoned with lemon pepper is grilling on your patio. Looks great, smells great, tastes great! Seafood plays significant role in Northwest cuisine and our economy. It was probably one of your menu choices this past week. It's important to know what you're doing when you purchase fresh fish. Here are some suggestions that will help you choose the safest, highest equality product for your family grill. The suggestions and guidelines are based on the Food and Drug Administration's Food Code.
Purchase your seafood from reputable sources. Check out the employees before you check out the seafood. Look at the employees behind the counter. They should be wearing clean clothing and hair coverings or hats of some kind. And, if you observe them smoking, eating, or playing with their hair, find another seafood market.
Take a visual tour of the facility or store. Seafood is one of the most perishable food items we purchase and consume. Take a close look at the facility. First of all, it should look and smell clean. It should be free of flies and bugs. Facilities that are well maintained are a good indication that the vendor is following good cleaning and sanitation practices. You may want to ask about those practices. Outstanding vendors will have regular cleaning and sanitary programs and they will be more than willing to share those activities with you.
Ask questions a bout the seafood you're purchasing. Employees should be knowledgeable about their products and be able to explain why their seafood is fresh to you. While I was living in New York, a large supermarket advertised "fresh Pacific NW salmon" for sale. One of the questions I asked the employee behind the counter was what kind of salmon it was. The answer received was "Pacific Salmon":. That answer didn't satisfy me. On investigation and after calling a manager I found that it was chum salmon that was being advertised in a way that suggested it was king salmon. It was also being sold at those prices. When employees can answer questions in direct, straight forward ways, you are more assured of getting what you pay for. If they cant answer questions, take your business elsewhere.
Because fish is so perishable, it needs to be refrigerated as soon as possible after purchase. Ideally, seafood should be put on ice, in the refrigerator, or in the freezer immediately after buying it.
So, if you're shopping and not going directly home, take a cooler with ice to protect your seafood and perishables.
B. Susie Craig
Area Faculty
WSU Cooperative Extension Thurston County
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