During Holy Week, fish becomes the protagonist of the menu. However, to avoid health risks, it is necessary to choose the product well before taking it to the table. There are indications that must be observed in the state of conservation to choose a fish that has been well packed before reaching the market.
The veterinarian Leandro Kanamaru Franco de Lima is the author of an Embrapa booklet which technically explains how to keep fish well preserved. In an interview with metropolisesthe researcher in Agroindustrial Use of Aquaculture Species translated the information to give tips to the consumer on how to choose the main dish on Good Friday.
The five key points
According to Leandro, before including fresh fish in the shopping cart, the consumer must pay particular attention to five characteristics:
- Eyes: they must be transparent, with a lively, shiny, protruding appearance and completely occupy the fish sockets;
- gills: they should be pink or red, moist and shiny;
- Scales: the surface of the body must be clean, without excess mucus and with a relative metallic luster;
- Fins: they must have a shiny appearance and be intact, without deformations;
- Carne: it must be firm, with an elastic consistency and respecting the color of the species. It can be white, yellow or salmon depending on the species.
In the case of purchasing fish that has already been frozen and industrially packaged, it is important to observe the expiry date on the package. It should also be observed if the frozen fish has an improper color and if there are large blocks of ice inside the package.
“If the product has been defrosted and frozen once more, its appearance is impaired. It starts to have a strange color and an excess of loose ice inside the package, in addition to an unwanted odor”, summarizes Leandro Kanamaru Franco de Lima.
What if I already bought it?
If the consumer observes these signs in some fish that he already has in the refrigerator at home, the specialist recommends that he not consume the meat raw under any circumstances and that he check the degree of compromise of the product, since, in some cases, the consequence is only a loss of product quality.
“Depending on the aspect, it is recommended not to consume. For products that do not have visual changes other than bad freezing, the losses will be related to the texture of the meat in the dish, which will have a spongy consistency”, he concludes.
And the cod?
In the case of consumption of salted cod, the purchase guidelines are from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock. Because it is a fish preserved in salt, other factors must be observed at the time of purchase.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock recommends buying cod already packaged and with mandatory information described on the label, with special attention to the expiration date.
A quick and simple tip to make the choice is to observe if the product is very dry, without traces of moisture or mold on the packaging. Yellowish or reddish spots on the fish’s skin can also indicate the presence of bacteria from a botched filling process.
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