7 Seafood Handling Tips for your Family's Safely During the Hot Seasons

It's almost that time of year again.  We are fast coming upon the spring and summer hot seasons.  We cook in our kitchens or on outdoor grills to eat outside. We'll take foods with us to distant locations.   We also do more fishing than during the winter, have family crab feasts and attend neighborhood "fish frys."  I think we eat and cook lots more fish, oysters and crabs to be eaten outdoors here in the Chesapeake Bay area than at any other time of year. 

So we need to be aware that there are dangers involved if we are not careful about protecting our foods from spoiling.; especially seafood.  I have assembled some safety tips for keeping your seafood safe for everyone to enjoy during the spring and summer time.

1. Always make sure to wash your hands with hot soapy water before and after handling raw seafood.  As a food handler, 20 seconds was required.  Singing the Happy Birthday song twice takes 20 seconds and should be standard practice anytime you cook raw seafood, even as a home cook.

2. Do not leave any seafood out of the refrigerator for more than two hours, including preparation time and time on the table.

3. It is always the best practice to defrost seafood in the refrigerator or under cold running water and not on the kitchen counter.  You can use the microwave method, although I only use this in an extreme emergency.*

*Even in an emergency, I prefer using cold or lukewarm water in a bowl or plastic bag and massaging the fish often to break through the ice.  (It may take a bit more effort on your part; and your hands do get cold; however, I notice that the microwave will actually cook parts of the fish, so in essence, it hasn't saved anything.)

4.  This tip is extremely important.  Never, ever put cooked food on the same plate  you used for the raw seafood.

5. Similarly, don't ever put cooked crabs in the same basket that came with the live crabs.

6. When you're marinating fish or shellfish, do it in the refrigerator, never at room temperature. Throw away the marinade after use.

7. Make sure you wash all containers, utensils, knives, plates, cutting boards and other surfaces touched by raw seafood with hot soapy water before reusing them.