Why Choose Seafood?

All seafood is great for your health, easy to prepare right at home. It's healthier and easier than you think. Let Foster's Food Fair, put a little seafood into your meal - you won't regret it.

Seafood Storage

Fresh Seafood

Place fresh fish, shrimp purchases in a leak proof container.
Store fresh seafood in the bottom section of the refrigerator or the meat storage compartment as close to 32o F as possible.
Never store live shellfish, like clams and mussels, in an airtight container. Cover with a clean, damp cloth to allow them to breathe. Live shellfish will gape naturally. Just tap the shell lightly - if it does not close, the shellfish is dead and must be discarded.
Cooked seafood should be stored in a clean covered container no longer than 3 days in the refrigerator.

Frozen Seafood

Store frozen seafood in its original packaging
Covered frozen seafood will keep up to 6 months in the typical
home freezer.
Thaw in refrigerator overnight or under cold running water.
Prepare defrosted seafood within 24 hours of thawing.
Never refreeze seafood that has thawed at room temperature.

Seafood Handling and Safety

One of the leading causes of most food-borne illnesses is improper food handling, preparation and storage. Here are a few simple tips to ensure great seafood quality and safety at home:

Make your seafood purchase last at the store and keep it cold! Ask our Seafood Manager to pack your purchase on ice if it's a long trip home.
Always wash your hands thoroughly with warm, soapy water before and after handling raw seafood.
Never thaw frozen seafood at room temperature. Thaw your frozen seafood purchase in the refrigerator overnight.
To thaw frozen seafood more rapidly, thaw in a sealed plastic bag under cold running water.
Do not re-use dishcloths or sponges you have used to clean up raw seafood.
Wash counters, utensils, plates, cutting boards and other surfaces that raw seafood has touched with hot, soapy water to prevent cross contamination.
Make sure that when storing raw seafood in the refrigerator that it is in a leak proof container.
Before cooking, rinse seafood under cold running water and pat dry.

Nutritional Benefits

Eating seafood at least twice a week has shown tremendous health benefits such as:

Less chance of developing heart disease
Lowers blood pressure
Lowers risk of a heart attack
Improves inflammatory conditions such as arthritis, psoriasis and kidney disease

Seafood is a primary source of Omega-3 fish oil, which is a fatty acid proven to have many benefits including brain development as well as reducing the risk of some forms of cancer. Seafood is a great source of protein and essential nutrients, but unlike other protein sources, seafood is very low in fat.

Buying Fresh Fish

When buying fresh fish look for bright, clear eyes, and shiny, bright colored skin. A fresh, mild odor reminiscent of the sea is normal. Flesh should be firm and spring back when pressed with your finger, and the gills should be a deep red to bright pink color.

Bringing it Home

Fresh fish should be used within a day - 2 days at most. Frozen fish can be stored in a moisture proof wrapper for up to 6 months. Frozen fish should be thawed in the refrigerator for 24 hours or for a quick thaw you can submerse the wrapped fish in cold water for one-hour per pound of fish.

Lean Fish

black sea bass, brook trout, cod, drum flounder, haddock, hake, halibut, red snapper, rockfish, tilefish, perch, pollack, tilapia.

Moderate Fat Fish

(usually less than 6 percent fat) - Salmon, barracuda, striped bass, swordfish, bonito tuna, whiting, monkfish (the 'tenderloin of the sea')

High Fat Fish

(usually darker color, and more distinct flavor) Atlantic herring, butterfish, mackerel, smelts, sturgeon, yellowtail, bass

Seafood