Shellfish Food Safety

If you are planning to have a lobster boil, clam bake, or feast of steamed mussels this summer, there are a few tips you should keep in mind.

"The department has been sharing food safety tips for years, and this summer we want to provide guidelines for a Nova Scotia tradition: shellfish," said Gary Moulton, food safety educator with the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.

A fact sheet posted on the department's food safety Web site provides tips about buying, storing and preparing shellfish.

"Harvesters, processors, transporters and the consumers who buy and prepare food have a role to play to protect the quality and safety of food," said Mr. Moulton.

Consequently, consumers are strongly encouraged to buy shellfish only from individuals and vendors licensed by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries. Licensed individuals and vendors are inspected to reduce food safety risks related to seafood. These licences should be displayed or be made available when requested by the consumer.

Other tips include:

• Look for shellfish that is properly refrigerated or iced and be sure to take it directly home to place in the refrigerator.
• Live lobster and crab should be cooked the same day they are purchased. Live mussels and clams in the shell should be used within two or three days; and oysters in the shell, within seven to 10 days. Shrimp and scallops have a shelf life of two to three days.
• At home, keep live shellfish on the lower shelves of your refrigerator, below cooked or other ready-to-eat foods. Raw shellfish should not come in contact with cooked shellfish. Before cooking, rinse shellfish in cold water for several seconds to remove surface dirt and bacteria.

Eating raw shellfish has a greater food safety risk than eating properly cooked shellfish. People with weakened immune systems, young children and elderly people are considered to be at high risk for foodborne illness and should avoid eating raw shellfish.

For more information about shellfish food safety, check out food safety on the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries Web site, at www.gov.ns.ca/nsaf/foodsafety.