How to avoid seafood poisoning

Food safety expert Jean Dible, who is the founder and president of GA Food Safety Professionals in Atlanta, contributes a bi-monthly column to the Corporate Flight Attendant Community website about food safety. Her most recent article is all about seafood safety.

The article, titled Maricos el Veneno (Poison From the Sea), talks about seafood hazards such as fish parasites, and various kinds of toxins that are sometimes found in fish and shellfish. But the article isn't meant to scare seafood lovers. Instead it is full of useful advice on what to look out for when shopping for seafood, and what kinds of things that can be done in the food preparation phase to minimize your risk.

For example, she points out that while some fish may be contaminated with mercury, it is known that much of the mercury is concentrated in the organs, skin and fat of the fish. So, she suggests eating fish that is grilled, since grilling causes the fat to drip away from the fish. She says to avoid deep fried fish that still has the skin on it.

The article is intended as advice for corporate flight attendants who are responsible for ordering the catering for their aircraft and preparing foods on board, but the information certainly is of interest to anyone who likes to eat fish.

A tip of the hat for this item to Matt Keegan, who runs the Corporate Flight Attendant Community website and the Corporate F/A Dispatch blog.