Consuming
Thoughts
by
Fay Strickler
Penn State Extension
Home Economist for
Berks Co.
Each year more than six mil
lion Americans fall prey to food
poisoning, according to statistics
complied by the Centers for Dis
ease Control (CDC). Usually as
sociated with boust of nausea and
diarrhea, food-home diseases can
be serious.
CDC estimates that about
9,000 deaths occur annually as a
result of eating contaminated and
mishandled foods.
While many types of foods
from meats to salads, even fruit
and baked goods-can lead to food
poisoning, a frequent culprit is
seafood. Fish and shellfish are
highly perishable commodities.
They are protein foods with a
high moisture content that can
support the rapid and progressive
growth of organisms causing
food borne diseases.
Here are a few suggestions for
choosing safe seafood: Buy sea
foods at a store or market with a
reputation for selling only the
best quality fish and shellfish.
Check around and shop only
where you feel confident. Con
sumers run a higher risk of hav
ing problems when they deal with
an unknown seller. Check to see
that fish is stored properly. Fish
should be kept in a separate sea
food case on a bed of ice.
Fish fillets and steaks should
not directly touch the ice, which
will leach moisture and flavor.
Fish steaks should be displayed
in a single layer and fillets
stacked no more than two deep
on a thin metal tray or on a plas
tic-film barrier to the ice.
Shucked or shelled shellfish meat
and peeled, raw or cooked
shrimp should not have direct
contact with ice, nor should live
shellfish be buried in ice. Whole
or dressed fish can be on the ice
as long as the head end faces
downward for proper drainage.
Price tags should be wedged in
ice or leroons-not in the fish itself.
Use your senses as a guide for
determining freshness. When
buying whole fish be sure that:
• The eyes are raised and clear
• The color of the fish is bright
and shiny
• The area underneath the gill
is pink, never brown or green
• The flesh is elastic. When
pressed it bounces back, leaving
no indentation
• There are no strong or “off”
odors. Fresh fish does not have a
fishy odor.
Fish fillets and steaks should
have moist firm flesh. Clams, oy
sters and mussels are usually
bought live.
The shell should be only slight
ly opened and will snap shut
tightly if tapped. Never buy a
clam shell that is fully open and/
or doesn’t move when touched.
Shellfish should come from certi
fied dealers. Live lobsters and
crabs should be lively and heavy
for their size. Lobster will curl its
tail underneath its body when re
moved from water.
When purchasing frozen sea
food, look for products that are
solidly frozen. All moisture and
vapor proof wrapping should fit
tightly. Don’t purchase products
that are soft, have ice crystals,
any sign of discoloration or white
patches, which indicate freezer
bum.
Fresh seafood should always
be cooked. Because of the high
incidence of viral foodbome out
breaks caused by eating raw
shellfish harvested from polluted
waters, Consumers are at risk if
they eat raw clams or oysters.
Fish should also be cooked.
Those who enjoy sushi are also
taking a real risk. Since fish is so
delicate it should be cooked and
eaten as quickly as possible and
preferably the same day it’s pur
chased.
Ask your seafood retailer to
pack the fish in a plastic bag,
then place it in another ice-filled
bag. Until cooking, store fresh
fish in the refrigerator at a setting
of 30-34 degrees. (Check your re
frigerator temperature occasion
ally, using a good thermometer).
Remember that fish must be
handled with special care if qual
ity and safety are to be main
tained.
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 1,2003-811
Philadelphia Flower Show
Opens March 2-9
PHILADELPHIA The world-renowned Philadelphia Flow
er Show opens March 2 through March 9.
Located at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, 12th and
Arch Streets, Philadelphia, the show encompasses 33 indoor
acres.
Free hourly lectures and demonstrations are offered each day
to Flower Show visitors. More than 140 vendors will sell flowers,
and garden and craft-related supplies in the marketplace.
Ticket prices are $24 opening day, March 2; $22 March 8 and
9; $2O Monday through Friday March 3-7). Children ages 2-12
are $lO any day.
For more information, check out the Website: www.flower
show.com.
Cutting All Curbs Not A Good Idea
COLUMBUS, Ohio —7 have
an allergy to wheat and dairy
products, and I am trying to cut
all curbs to help me lose
weight. Can you give me a list
of foods that contain carbohy
drates?
That would be quite a long list.
Many foods contain carbohy
drates, and most dietitians frown
on the idea of taking such radical
approaches to the diet. “Every
thing in moderation” is a good
rule of thumb. Extreme measures
almost always fail where weight
loss is concerned.
With your allergies, you of
course must be careful.
The Food and Drug Adminis
tration estimates that about 1.5
percent of adults have food aller
gies, along with 6 percent of chil
dren younger than 3. That
equates to about 4 million Ameri
cans; about 150 die from food al
lergies each year.
According to the FDA, the
most common foods to cause al
lergies in adults are shrimp, lob-
ster, crab and other shellfish; pea
nuts; walnuts and other tree nuts;
fish; and eggs. In children, eggs,
milk, peanuts, soy and wheat are
the main culprits.
Children usually outgrow their
allergies to milk, egg, soy and
wheat, while allergies to peanuts,
tree nuts, fish and shrimp usually
stay for life. Most adults who
have allergies never get rid of
them.
Dietitians recommend that
people who want to cut down on
carbs avoid refined carbs such as
white bread, pastas, white rice
and sweets.
You’re probably already doing
a lot of this becarse of your
wheat allergy. On the other hand,
incorporating unrefined carbs
could be more difficult for you
because of the allergy. Still,
brown rice, beans, vegetables,
fruits, nuts and some cereals are
all examples of non-wheat, carb
containing components of a
healthful diet. Don’t nix them
just because you think it might be
easier to lose weight.