Shellfish: guide to safe eating

Press, 19 February 1986, Page 15

Shellfish: guide to safe eating

Fortunately for New Zealand, we have not had large outbreaks of food poisoning from shellfish to contend with, but that does not mean we can be complacent, according to the Department of Health. Each year, hundreds of tonnes of shellfish of every sort are harvested by fishermen — both commercial and amateur — from around New Zealand’s coastline. Most of the shellfish you eat will not have any unpleasant side effects, but some may cause illnesses ranging from mild stomach upsets to such serious infectious diseases as typhoid and hepatitis.

These diseases can be caused by eating shellfish taken from waters polluted with human sewage or contaminated during processing and storing. Many shellfish pump lots of water through their gut and filter out suitable food. If there is human sewage in the water, harmful bacteria and viruses are also filtered and collected in the gut. Since shellfish are usually eaten raw, these viruses and bacteria can affect the person eating them.

Never take shellfish from water polluted with human sewage, the Department advises, and offers the following tips:

© Enclosed harbours are more likely to be polluted than open beaches and coasts.

• Dangerously polluted waters are often signposted. Watch out for the signs.

e Don’t collect or keep shellfish in clear plastic bags; sacking will protect shellfish from the sun and keep them cool, wet and alive. Refrigerate them as soon as possible. Always buy your shellfish from fish shops, commercial fishermen or licensed hawkers. When you buy shelled shellfish, make sure that the container is marked with the date of packing. If you buy from a roadside vendor, ask for his or her name and where and when the shellfish were collected.

Don’t eat the shellfish if they: • Do not retain original shape on touching or remain firm to the touch. • Are smelly. • Are in dirty containers.

• If you are not sure where they came from. Shellfish removed from their shells will keep in a refrigerator for up to three days, and in a freezer for up to three

months. Cooked shellfish will keep in a refrigerator for up to two days, and in a freezer for up to three months. Shellfish taken from a freezer and

thawed will keep in a refrigerator for up to two days, but shellfish that have been frozen and thawed (always in a refrigerator) must not be refrozen.