Find out if the seafood you bought is still safe to eat
Have you purchased some seafood but hadn’t had the chance to eat it yet? Or do you have leftover seafood in your fridge and want to know whether it is still safe to reheat it? With these tips, you’ll know if your seafood has gone bad or if you can still eat it.
Best before…
Fish is kind of tricky when it comes to it’s best before date. Fish can last between two days or a few months. We know, very confusing! But it all depends on the state of your fish. Whether it is cooked, frozen, fresh, etc. The first thing to check for in fresh fish, is smell. According to Lyf Gildersleeve, a fresh fish should smell ‘clean’ and ‘oceanic’. It’s eyes should be clear and the flesh should be bright and shiny.
Go to the next page to read more about if the seafood you bought is still safe to eat!
Uncooked
If you know what a fresh fish is supposed to smell like, it might help you distinguish the fresh from the spoiled. According to Kiki Aranita, chef and owner of Poi Dog, you can smell it if an uncooked fish has gone bad. They told EatingWell: “If it smells pungently fishy and putrid (and doesn’t make you want to eat it!), trust your nose.
Its texture may also become slimy, less firm and more mushy, and it may turn gray. Shine is fine. Slime is not.” The thing to check for is a sour smell, cloudy eyes, bruising and slime.
Cooked
But what if you have already cooked a delicious meal and want to know whether you can enjoy that meal for a second time? The general rule is that you should eat your seafood within three days. If you don’t remember how long it has been, you can try to smell the food again.
Your fish will again smell strong, the texture will be dry and there might even be mold on the fish. If you’re unsure, it would always be better to throw it out. Eating spoiled fish will be way worse than throwing it out when it was still perfectly safe to eat.
