Mouth-watering and sumptuous seafood dishes that await your dining table surely cut the hunger out of your sight and tummy! Crabs, shrimps, scallops, mussels, oysters, lobsters, fish — whatever seafood it is, it does not just fill your stomach with food but also your face with smiles! 

Seafood is expensive for they come in seasons, and catching them is not easy at all! You can say certain seafoods are also rare in some areas, additionally making this food category sought-after! 

All these beautiful images and presentations of seafood are present, but you shall never forget how they have been “dirty” and yet inedible after being caught! That is why you must ensure that they are cleaned and kept in good condition first before you cook and eat them. 

Here are 5 tips  to make sure that seafood at home is clean before it gets to your plate!  

Fresh First

Always ensure that you get fresh seafood regardless if you buy it from the wet market, from the mall or from fresh seafood markets online! 

Different seafoods have different ways of determining freshness, distinguishing the fresh and stale. Be well-informed of the characteristics of fish, oysters, crabs and other seafood that you have been told are fresh before you order and pay for them. 

Freshness comes first all the time when it comes to considering the seafood you want to eat. The right odor, color, texture, flesh, insides and many more aspects that imply they are fresh are chief factors that show seafood’s cleanliness. Take note of them, and be alert. 

Sometimes, stores tend to trick customers through the color of the lighting they install. Because of their lighting, you might think that the fish is plump, meaning it is fresh, when it really is not. Be mindful of that as well. Do not be fooled. As much as possible, buy from your trusted vendors and from reputable fresh seafood stalls. 

Sanitary Stores

Where the seafood comes from has something to do with its sanitation. If you visit the market, see to it that the area where the seafoods are dropped off, managed, cut and all is not filthy at all. Yes, you will clean it personally at home, but the environment where the seafoods have been staying must be clean too. If not, bacteria might take its chance to overtake.

Buy from stores and stalls that prioritize their place’s cleanliness. It reflects how they work while putting value to human health and customer safety and satisfaction. 

If you see or discover any seafood-selling shops that do not observe proper sanitation regulations, do not hesitate to report them to authorities. Do not let them spread food that’s not well-maintained and that might cause human diseases.

Hygienic Handling

Seafood must be handled with clean hands and worked on with clean tools. It does not matter if it’s you or the vendors; whoever it is and whatever instrument is used, seafood should be held with cleanliness. 

If you just ordered seafood online, be certain that the store knows the meaning of food sanitation. Just because their clients cannot see over their cellphones how they manage the seafood they ship does not give them the right to be irresponsible about taking charge of it. 

Clean hands and bodies must handle these seafood. Even if they are fresh, they can get dangerous and negatively affected if the people who will take over them do not care about cleanliness and/or are seriously sick. 

Dirt-Free Delivery

All the chests, boxes, containers and other types of vessels that will keep and carry the seafood must be cleaned well before use. The vehicles where the seafood orders will be placed and by which they will be delivered to you should be in good condition too. Do not just put the food on the floor or in areas wherein the seafood’s freshness might be ruined. 

Like what was mentioned earlier, people handling the seafood should be hygienic too, and it goes down until the delivery man! Every person to and from which the seafood will be passed on should be watchful regarding proper hygiene!

Remember, these are perishable goods for shipping. Make sure it’s a dirt-free delivery.

Proper Personal Cleaning

Clean the seafood you bought before preparing them for cooking. You will never know where and how it has been treated. You will never know who held it. Do your personal cleaning at home even when vendors remove the dirty parts and the like. 

You will be more convenient and convinced to eat happily and comfortably knowing that it’s you who kept it nicely and made sure that it’s not just tasty but cleanly edible! 

Know the proper ways of cleaning fresh seafood. Eliminate the odors, feels and fishiness that must be removed for eating. 

>>>FOOD MUST BE GOOD

Seafood comes from places you will never find out! They were alive before they got into seafood stores and markets, and you will never know how their lives have been. Bear in mind to clean them thoroughly before they get into your mouth! Yes, fresh seafood could be lovely and impressive, but do not stop there! Pay attention to neatness. It’s food, so it has to be, in all aspects, good.

This article written by Nicole Pore