Holy Week: how to avoid diseases from fish consumption

During Holy Week, by tradition, many people consume fish and other fishery products.

As consumption increases, the chances of contracting diseases also increase.

Therefore, from the National Agrifood Health and Quality Service (Senasa) provide some guidelines to take into account in order to make a innocuous choice, avoid improper handling and prevent diseases transmitted by this type of food, for consumers, transporters and traders of fishery products.

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Recommendations for consumption

• Acquire fishing products in shops; never on public roads.
• Do not buy homemade products or craft that are not duly registered and authorized.
• In case of own fishing, verify with the local health authority the safety of the catch in the area. Keep them on ice during fishing and transport.
• It is preferable to eat well-cooked fish especially in more susceptible individuals (pregnant women, children, the elderly and immunosuppressed).

About fresh fish

• Buy products that have pleasant aroma of the sea.
• The fish should have red gills, the scales well attached to the body and shiny; its meat should be firm and not give in to finger pressure (steaks should be firm to the touch).

• It can be kept for 1 to 2 days in the refrigerator and up to three months in the freezer.
• eyes must be bright since the presence of opacity or its subsidence is an index of deterioration.
• The salted cod stalks should have a dry appearance and not present red or black dots on its surface, as this indicates that they have been attacked by fungi.

About frozen products and preserves

• frozen products they should be kept in freezers (-18º C). In case of lacking this medium, store them in the freezer and consume them during the day.
• Do not thaw and refreeze fish and shellfish. Never thaw them at room temperature and, once prepared, consume them as soon as possible.
• tin cans of fishery products – like other canned products – must not present dents, nor be swollen, nor rusty. Verify labels, origin and expiration date.

About crustaceans, squid and mussels

• Small crustaceans –such as shrimps and prawns– can have a translucent purplish-brown color when raw or an intense red when they are sold cooked. However, in no case should they have black spotsunpleasant odor or detachment between head and trunk as all these are signs of deterioration.
• The squid must have a smooth, soft and moist skin. without bloody or strange spots to the species, its eyes must be alive, bright and protruding and its musculature consistent and elastic.
• When purchasing fresh whole mussels or other bivalve molluscs the valves must be closed, in this case, check if they close with a slight blow. Do not collect them on beaches.

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Recommendations for carriers

• Maintain the cold chain and update your registration for the transportation of food products.
• Transport the products in adequate packaging conditions and, where appropriate, with plenty of flake ice.
• Have in your possession all Mandatory and corresponding documentation: Sanitary protection certificates issued by Senasa, and/or the Buenos Aires Central Market Corporation (for products purchased there) and/or transit guides issued by provincial authorities.
• Remember that bivalve molluscs (mussels, scallops, mussels, etc.) they must include the number of the analysis that will be carried out in the Senasa Sanitary Certificate: there it is stated that the product is suitable in relation to the paralytic toxin of mollusks.

Recommendations for merchants

• Maintain the temperatures of cold rooms and freezers within the required levels.
• That the fish and shellfish on display and in the fresh state have plenty of flake ice.
• Permanently maintain the hygiene of the premises.
• Demand the corresponding Sanitary Protection certificates of fish and shellfish spread by Senasa, and/or the Central Market of Buenos Aires (for the products purchased there), where the location is stated as the final destination; always have them available.

LM / ED

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