Fishing for Food Safety

February 26, 2004 (Updated December 18, 2007)
Suzanne Driessen
University of Minnesota, Regional Extension Educator, Food Science
Email: driessen@umn.edu

The consumption of fish and seafood increases dramatically during the Lenten season. Suzanne Driessen, University of Minnesota Regional Extension Educator specializing in food safety and quality reminds us how to buy, store, prepare and cook fish safely, as well as how much fish is safe to eat.

Fish tastes “fishy” when it hasn’t been handled properly. To avoid “fishy” fish, smell and feel it. It should have a fresh and mild odor. It should be firm to touch and “spring back” into place. If you can see your fingerprint or it has a strong odor, the fish is old.

Don’t buy cooked seafood like shrimp, crab or smoked fish displayed in the same case as raw fish. Juices from the raw fish can transfer bacteria onto the cooked or ready-to-eat fish. For frozen seafood, look for frost or ice crystals. This is a sign that the fish has been stored for a long time or thawed and refrozen.

Fish loses its freshness quickly. Store it into the coldest part of the refrigerator. Allow air to circulate freely around the package. Store uncooked fish below ready-to-eat foods. To freeze fish, wrap airtight in heavy-duty aluminum foil, plastic freezer wrap, or heavy-duty freezer bags. Freeze at zero degrees or lower for 4-6 months. Never refreeze fish.

Fish cooks more evenly if thawed before cooking. For best quality, thaw overnight in the refrigerator. If you need to thaw fish quickly, place in a sealable plastic bag and put in cold water for about an hour. If you are using a microwave to thaw, put on “defrost” setting. Remove the fish from the microwave while the fish is still icy but pliable. Cook immediately. If baking or broiling allow 10 minutes per inch of thickness until white and flaky (155 degree F on a food thermometer.) Don’t overcook fish. Cooking fish at too high of a temperature or for too long a time toughens it, dries it out and destroys the flavor.

There seems to be a sea of advisories regarding how mush fish is safe to eat. There’s no need to stop eating fish”, says Driessen. The Minnesota Department of Health website ( http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/fish/index.html) provides Safe Eating Guidelines to see if you and your family need to make changes in your fish-eating habits.

Pregnant women, women who may become pregnant and children under age 15 follow these fish consumption guidelines:

Fish Caught in Minnesota:

1. Panfish (sunfish, crappie) perch, bullheads limit to 1 meal a week;


2. Walleyes shorter than 20 inches, northern pike shorter than 30 inches, all sizes of other species limit to 1 meal a month;


3. Do Not Eat: Walleyes longer than 20 inches, northern pike longer than 30 inches, muskellunge.

Commercial Fish (bought in a store or eaten in a restaurant):

1. Salmon, cod, pollock, canned "light" tuna (6 ox.), catfish, tilapia, herring, sardines, shrimp, crab, scallops and oysters limit to 2-3 meals a week;


2. Canned 'white' tuna (6 oz.), tuna steaks, halibut, lobster limit to 2 meals per month;


3. Due to mercury concerns, four fish not safe in any amount for pregnant or nursing women or small children include shark, swordfish, king mackerel and tile fish.

The general population:

1. can eat unlimited amounts of panfish (sunfish, crappie, yellow perch or bullhead);


2. can eat one meal per week of other fish;


3. can eat one meal per month of shark, swordfish, tilefish, king mackerel.

Reviewed by Debbie Botzek-Linn, University of Minnesota Regional Extension Educator, Food Science, December 18, 2007.